Black

This article is about the color black. For other uses, see Black (disambiguation).

Black is the shade of things that do not reflect light of any parts of the visible spectrum.

Strictly speaking, black is not a color. More accurately, a black object absorbs all the colors visible spectrum and reflects none of them, and sometimes is described as an "achromatic color".

Color or light

In physics, a black body is a perfect absorber of light, but by a rule derived by Einstein it is also, when heated, the best emitter. Thus, the best radiative cooling, out of sunlight, is by using black paint, though it is important that it be black (a nearly perfect absorber) in the infrared as well.

In elementary science Ultraviolet light is called "black light" because, unseen (per se), it causes many minerals and other substances to fluoresce.

Usage, symbolism, colloquial expressions

In the Western world, black is most often used with a negative connotation. The reasons for this are various, but the most widely accepted explanations are that night is experienced by humans as negative and dangerous. A secondary reason is that stains are most visible as dark additions to pale materials. In traditional class-based Western cultures "pale" skin indicated genteel domestic or intellectual indoor-work as opposed to rough outdoor labor in the fields. Aspects of this black/white opposition are not unique to the West, as, for example in the Indian varna system. African, Afro-Caribbean and African-American writers such as Frantz Fanon, Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, and Ralph Ellison in particular identify a number of negative symbolisms surrounding the word "black", arguing that the good vs. bad dualism associated with white and black provide prejudiced connotations to color metaphors for race.

• Black people
• Black hair
• Black July killing of the Tamil population by the Sinhalese government
• A "black day", in these cultures, would refer to a sad or tragic day. The Romans already marked fasti days with white stones and nefasti days with black.^{[citation needed]}
  • e.g. the Black September in Jordan refers to a month in which thousands were killed.
  • Black Spring (Printemps noir) refers to the events of spring 2001 in the Berber region of Kabylia (Algeria), when the police shot and killed more than 100 people.
  • Black Monday, stock market crash on October 19, 1987
  • Black Tuesday, stock market crash on October 29, 1929 which is the start of the Great Depression.
  • Black Wednesday caused Britain to pull out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.
  • Black Thursday, stock market crash on October 24, 1929
  • Black Friday, various tragic events. Also the day after Thanksgiving, the official start to the US holiday shopping season, though in this latter case it may be construed as a positive thing.
• Many poems and songs use the word black negatively (e.g. "Paint It Black" (Rolling Stones), "Baby's In Black" (Beatles), "Black Eyed Dog" (Nick Drake), " Fade to Black" (Metallica).
• In English heraldry, black means darkness, doubt, ignorance, and uncertainty. (The American Girls Handy Book, p. 370)
• Black is often a color of mourning. Historically, widows and widowers were often expected to wear black.
• Black comedy is a form of comedy dealing with morbid and serious topics.
• Black magic is an evil form of magic, often connected with death.
• A blacklist is a list of undesirable persons or entities (to be placed on the list is said to be "blacklisted", or alternatively "blackballed").
• Evil witches are stereotypically dressed in black and good fairies in white. Melodrama villains are dressed in black and heroines in white dresses. In many Hollywood Westerns, bad cowboys wear black hats while the good ones wear white. Funeral dress is black, wedding gowns are white.
• In computer security, a blackhat is an attacker with evil intentions, while a whitehat bears no such ill will. (This is derived from the Western convention.)
• The black market is used to denote the trade of illegal goods, or alternatively the illegal trade of otherwise legal items at considerably higher prices.
• Blackmail is illegal and is perceived as immoral.
• The black sheep of the family is the ne'er-do-well.
• The infamous "black hole of Calcutta."
• Black thoughts are wicked ones.^{[citation needed]}
• A black mood is a bad one (e.g. Winston Churchill's depression, which he called "my black dog").^[1]
• A black cat is superstitiously considered bad luck and linked with death.
• If you sink the black eight-ball in billiards before all others are out of play, you lose (The ball with which you sink all others is the white cue ball). However, sinking the black ball on the opening shot results in an automatic win.
• A black mark against you is a bad thing.^{[citation needed]}
• A black-hearted person is mean and unloving.
• Black propaganda is the use of known falsehoods, partial truths, or masquerades in propaganda to confuse an opponent.
• Black Death, also known as the Black Plague, was a pandemic in Europe which killed tens of millions of people.

Positive symbolism

• In the Maasai tribes of Kenya and Tanzania, the color black is associated with rain clouds, becoming a symbol of life and prosperity.
• Black was also the color of the Arab dynasty of Abbasid caliphs, and that's why black is frequently used in flags of Arab-Muslim countries
• In Western fashion, black is considered reliably stylish. This seems to be for reasons of contrast with the light skin (conversely, white t-shirts or suits are often stylish among dark-skinned people.)
  • The colloquialism "the new black" is a reference to the latest trend or fad, on the basis that black is always fashionable.
• Black can also be seen as the color of prestige: for example, limousines are usually in black, and black tuxedos are worn at black tie functions.
• The band AC/DC sang "Back in Black", a song about being successful and ambitious once again.
• Black is seen as a color of seriousness and authority.
  • Many priests of the older religious denominations traditionally wear black.
  • Lawyers and judges often wear black robes, as do university graduates (see Academic dress).
  • The beltzak ("blacks" after their uniform) are the riot control units of the Basque Autonomous Police
  • Traditionally, Police vehicles ("Panda cars") were in black and white.
• Black Watch is the senior Highland Regiment of the British Army.
• To say one's accounts are "in the black" is used to mean that one is free of debt.
  • (Being "in the red" is to be in debt—in traditional bookkeeping, negative amounts, such as costs, were printed in red ink, and positive amounts, like revenues, were printed in black ink, so that if "the bottom line" is printed in black, the firm is profiting.)
• The highest rank in any martial art is a black belt.
• Cathar Perfects wore black (Cathars viewed black as a colour of perfection).

Neutral symbolism

• The term black is often used in the West to denote race for persons whose skin color ranges from light to darker shades of brown. For a discussion of usage, see the main entry at Black (people) and Color metaphors for race.
• In arguments, things can be black-and-white, meaning that the issue at hand is dichotomized. However, this dualism is fraught with danger, as one may assign the colors "black and white" to bad and good, respectively. Also, few arguments have only two opposing sides.
• Black frequently symbolizes ambiguity, secrecy, and the unknown.
  • A black box is any device whose internal workings are unknown or inexplicable.
  • A black project is a secretive project, like Enigma Decryption, other classified military programs or operations, Narcotics, or police sting operations.
  • The blackshirts were Italian Fascist militias (negative for anti-fascists, but presumably positive for the original fascists themselves)
  • Some organizations are called "black" when they keep a low profile, like Sociétés Anonymes and secret societies.
• From 1988 until his death in the 2001 Daytona 500, NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt was famous for driving a black Chevrolet.
• The term "black hole" is applied to collapsed stars. This term is metaphorical in the extreme, because few properties of black objects or black voids apply to black holes. However, light emitted within a black hole's event horizon cannot escape, hence a black hole cannot be directly observed.
• The national rugby team of New Zealand is called the All Blacks, in reference to their black outfits.
• Association football (soccer) referees traditionally wear all-black uniforms, however nowadays other uniform colors may also be worn.
• In auto racing, a black flag signals a certain driver to go into the pits.
• Black is also used for anarchist symbolism, sometimes split in diagonal with other colors for further symbolism. The plain black flag is explained as the opposite of a white flag signalling surrender. It is also sometimes an anarchist dress code, with a practical benefit of not attracting attention and making later identification of a subject difficult. This strategy referred to as a black bloc.
• Black metal is a style of music including bands such as Celtic Frost and the early works of Burzum.
• In Portuguese politics, black is the party color of the Leftwing Bloc.
• In ancient China, black was the symbol of North and Water, one of the main five colors. There is no negative or positive meaning associated with it.
• A polished black mirror is used for scrying, and is thought to help see into the paranormal world without interference or distraction.
• Members of the modern Goth subculture dress predominantly in black.
• Many performers of classical or other "serious" art music dress in all-black clothes for a concert or recital.
• A large number of sports teams have uniforms designed with black colors - many feeling the color sometimes imparts a psychological advantage in its wearers. Among the more famous (or infamous) include the Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL, the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA, and Inter Milan of the Serie A of the Italian soccer leagues.

Black pigments

• Carbon black
• Ivory black
• Ebony
• Charcoal black
• Mars black

References

1. ^ Hal Haralson. Dancing with the Black Dog. christianethicstoday.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-10.

See also

• List of colors

Categories

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