A pure colour is a monochromatic colour with no added tint or shade, and can be produced by a single wavelength of light at full saturation.
- Any single wavelength of light at full saturation and brightness is perceived as a pure colour.
- Saturation refers to the purity or vividness of a colour, while brightness refers to the intensity or amount of light in a colour.
- Tint refers to a hue that has been mixed with white, while shade refers to a hue that has been mixed with black.
- A monochromatic colour on the other hand refers to a colour produced by a single wavelength of light but including all of its tints and shades.
- Colours produced by a narrow band of adjacent wavelengths may appear to be pure colours.
- Spectral colours are the hues that are produced by the separation of white light into its component colours by refraction or diffraction, as seen in a rainbow.
- Rainbow colours include red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet but the human eye can distinguish other pure colours between each one.
- In a continuous spectrum of sufficiently close wavelengths, separate colours are indistinguishable.
Related diagrams
Each diagram below can be viewed on its own page with a full explanation.
