What is additive color synthesis?

Additive synthesis is a model that allows explaining the obtaining of a color from the sum of the color components. The additive reproduction process typically uses red, green, and blue light as components to produce the other colors; Combining one of these primary colors with another in equal proportions produces the additive secondary colors: cyan, magenta, and yellow. By combining the three primary colors of light with the same intensities, white is produced, varying the intensity of each colored light ultimately revealing the full spectrum of these three lights.

Televisions and computer monitors are the most common practical applications of additive synthesis or mixing. James Clerk Maxwell is credited as the father of additive mixing, he had photographer Thomas Sutton shoot a plaid three times, each time with a different colored filter on the lens; the three images were projected on a screen with three different projectors, each equipped with the same color filter used to take the images. By joining the three bulbs he formed a full color image, thus demonstrating the principles of color synthesis.

This form of color synthesis is used in all media that reproduce and/or capture images that depend on the direct emission of light. Among the main uses we have:

  • Process of capturing images from a color photography camera.
  • Process of capturing images from a video camera.
  • TV screen in its various systems.
  • Computer monitor
  • Cell phone screens and other electronic devices.
  • Slide projector
  • Film and video projector in general.

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