Monochrome 261993 223595097 2008-07-04T20:11:04Z Bevo 19619 section heading formatting consistency {{unreferenced|date=December 2007}} {{otheruses}} <!-- Unsourced image removed: [[Image:Neighborhood watch grayscale.jpg|thumb|right|A photograph of a sign rendered in shades of grey|200px]] --> [[Image:Parrot EGA monochrome palette.png|thumb|right|A photograph rendered with a small monochrome palette]] '''Monochrome''' comes from the [[Greek language|Greek]] ''μονόχρωμος'' (''monochromos''), meaning “of one color”, which is a combination of ''μόνος'' (''monos''), meaning “alone” or “solitary”, and ''χρώμα'' (''chroma''), meaning “color”.<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/61/17/M0391700.html Monochrome] in The American Heritage Dictionary</ref> Monochromatic light is light of a single wavelength, though in practice it can refer to light of a narrow wavelength range. A monochromatic object or image is one whose range of colors consists of shades of a single [[color]] or [[hue]]; monochrome images in neutral colors are also known as [[grayscale]] or [[black-and-white]]. ==Theory== In [[physics]], the word "monochromatic" is used more generally to refer to [[electromagnetic radiation]] of a single [[wavelength]]. In the physical sense, no real source of electromagnetic radiation is purely monochromatic, since that would require a [[wave]] of infinite duration as a consequence of the [[Fourier transform#Localization property|Fourier transform's localization property]] (cf. [[Coherence (physics)#Spectral coherence|spectral coherence]]). Even sources such as [[laser]]s have some narrow range of wavelengths (known as the [[spectral linewidth]]) within which they operate. In practice, filtered light, [[diffraction grating]] separated light and laser light are all routinely referred to as monochromatic. Often light sources can be compared and one be labeled as “more monochromatic” (in a similar usage as ''monodispersity''). And a device which isolates light sources of a narrow bandwidth are called [[monochromator]]s, even though the bandwidth is often explicitly specified, and thus a collection of wavelengths is understood. ==Application== For an [[image]], the term monochrome is usually taken to mean the same as [[black]]-and-[[white]] or, more likely, [[grayscale]], but may also be used to refer to other combinations containing only tones of a single color, such as [[green]]-and-white or green-and-black. It may also refer to [[Sepia tone|sepia]] displaying tones from light tan to dark brown or [[cyanotype]] (“blueprint”) images, and early photographic methods such as [[Ambrotype]], [[Tintype]] and [[Daguerreotype]], each of which may be used to produce a monochromatic image. In computing, monochrome has two meanings: *it may mean having only one color which is either on or off, *allowing shades of that color, although the latter is more correctly known as grayscale. A monochrome [[computer display]] is able to display only a single color, often green, [[Amber (color)|amber]], [[red]] or white, and often also shades of that color. In film photography, monochrome is typically the use of black and white film. Originally, all photography was done in monochrome until the invention of color film plates in the early 20th century. [[Image:AbaglypMonochromeToy.jpg|thumb|right|200px|<center>Monochrome [[anaglyph image]] [[stereogram]] rendered in red and cyan</center>{{3d glasses}}]] In digital photography, monochrome is the capture of only shades of black by the sensor, or by post-processing a color image to present only the perceived brightness by combining the values of multiple channels (usually red, blue, and green). The weighting of individual channels may be selected to achieve a desired artistic effect - if only the red channel is selected by the weighting then the effect will be similar to that of using a red filter on [[panchromatic film]]. If the red channel is eliminated and the green and blue combined then the effect will be similar to that of [[Orthochromatic]] film or the use of a cyan filter on panchromatic film. The selection of weighting thus allows a wide range of artistic expression in the final monochromatic image. For production of an [[anaglyph image]] the original color [[stereogram]] source may first be reduced to monochrome in order to simplify the rendering of the image. This is sometimes required in cases where a color image would render in a confusing manner given the colors and patterns present in the source image and the selection filters used (typically [[red]] and its complement [[cyan]]), ==See also== {{wiktionarypar|monochrome}} *[[Duotone]] - the use of two ink colors in printing *[[Halftone]] - the use of black and white in a pattern that is [[perception|perceived]] as shades of grey (may be extended also to color images) *[[Monochromacy]] (Color blindness) *[[Selective color]] Use of monochrome and color selectively within an image ==References== {{reflist}} [[Category:Color]] [[Category:Color depths]] [[Category:Greek loanwords]] [[da:Monokromatisk lys]] [[es:Monocromo]] [[fr:Monochrome]] [[he:מונוכרומטיות]] [[hu:Monokromatikus sugárzás]] [[nl:Monochroom]] [[ja:モノクローム]] [[pl:Monochromatyczność]] [[pt:Monocromia]] [[simple:Monochrome]] [[fi:Monokromaattinen säteily]] [[sv:Monokrom]] [[uk:Випромінювання монохроматичне]] [[zh:單色光]]