Red

Related Topics:
Redheads :: Reds :: Redford,_Robert :: Red_Dawn :: Red_Dirt :: Red_Heat :: Redgrave :: Redneck :: Red_River :: Redgrave,_Vanessa

Red is any of a number of similar colors at the lowest frequencies of light discernible by the human eye. Red light has a wavelength range of roughly 630-760 nm. Lower frequencies are called infrared, or below red. Red is an additive primary color, complementary to cyan. It was once considered to be a subtractive primary color, and is still sometimes described as such in non-scientific literature; however, the colors cyan, magenta and yellow are now known to be closer to the true subtractive primary colors detected by the eye, and are used in modern color printing.

One common use of red as an additive primary color is in the RGB color model. Because "red" is not by itself standardised, color mixtures based on red are not exact specifications of color either. In order to produce exact colors the color red needs to be defined in terms of an absolute color space such as sRGB. As used in computer monitors and television screens, red is very variable, but some systems may apply color correction (so that a standardised "red" is produced that is not in fact full intensity of only the red colorant). A few examples of the color red are Stop signs, strawberries, apples.

Usage, symbolism, and colloquial expressions

Red catches people's attention, and is often used to indicate danger or emergency.
- Red is the color of heat and fire. Taps for hot water are often labeled red. Red is commonly the color of fire alarm boxes, fire extinguishers, and the firefighter profession itself.
- Red denotes "stop" in, for instance, stop signs, traffic signals, brake lights, or the flashing lights of a school bus.
- Red is the color of blood, and a Red Cross, Red Crescent or Red Crystal flag signify medical personnel, facilities, or equipment, or the Geneva Conventions.
- Red indicates extreme danger on Western color-coded scales, such as wildfire hazard signs or the U.S. Homeland Security Advisory System.
- In auto racing, a red flag signals all cars to immediately stop.
- The redline is the maximum speed an engine and its components can safely run.
- Emergency exits on passenger aircraft are indicated by red signs and lighting.
- "Redlining" is delineating a forbidden area (as on a map), for instance where a company denies or increases the cost of services, and is illegal in various circumstances in the U.S.
- With ships on collision courses, the ship on starboard tack sees the Green for Go light on the ship on port tack, while the ship on port tack sees the Red for Stop light on the ship on starboard tack.
Rosso corsa is the traditional color of Italian race cars.
In Christianity, red represents the color of fire and so symbolizes the presence of God. It is the liturgical color for Pentecost. It is also considered the color of the Catholic Church, since red can also symbolize the blood of martyrs. It is sometimes used for Holy Thursday and during Eastertide. In Catholic tradition it is used for Palm Sunday in anticipation of the death of Jesus.
In Association football (soccer), the referee shows a red card to a player who is being sent-off.
Red can sometimes symbolize evil in any kind of work that involves a villain.
A red item is an omen in the 2006 film The Omen (2006 film)
Being the color of blood, red was associated with the Roman mythology god of war, Mars, and the reddish planet Mars became named after him. The phrase "red-blooded" describes someone who is audacious, robust, or virile; it is sometimes used to contrast with a cold or effete "blue blood" although the terms are unrelated in origin.
Red is the color of the passion (emotion), romance and sex, (because of its association with blood, which is responsible for arousal) thus the red of a Valentine heart and of a "red-light district". Paradoxically, it also denotes anger, as in the expression seeing red, or embarrassment, as in being red-faced (many of these effects themselves caused by the blood rushing to the brain from adrenaline).
Red is considered holy in some parts of sub-sahara Africa. In these regions women are forbidden to wear red clothes.
In English heraldry, red (called gules) denoted ardent affection or love, while crimson (blood-color) stood for boldness, enthusiasm, or impetuosity. (The American Girls Handy Book, p. 369-370)
Before the French revolution red was the color of the flag signifying the imposition of martial law.

Beginning with the Revolution of 1848, "Socialist" red was used as a color of European Revolutionaries, often in the form of the red flag. It was also used by Garibaldi's camicie rosse ("redshirts") in the Italian Risorgimento, and taken up by Leftist and generally radical groups, while the white of legitimist Bourbon partisans became associated with pre-World War I conservatives. This relates to the term "Blood of the workers", representing the suffering of the proletariat.

For instance the Civil War in Russia and the Civil War in Finland were fought between the "Red Army" and various "White Armies".
The identification of Communism with "Socialist" red (with the red flag being the primary color of the flag of the Soviet Union) and the red star being a Communist emblem led to such Cold War phrases as "the Red Menace" and "Red China" (distinguished from Nationalist China, "Free China," or Taiwan). See also The East is Red. Mao Zedong was sometimes referred to as a "red sun". The color was also associated with political vehicles such as the Red Guard in China and the Red Guards during the Russian Revolution of 1917 as well as with left wing paramilitary groups such as the Red Army Faction in Germany and the Japanese Red Army.

Red remains associated with parties on the left of the political spectrum, with several notable exceptions (see "Political Parties" below)

In ancient China, red was the symbol of South and Fire, one of the main five colors.
In Chinese symbolism, red is the color of good luck and is used for decoration and wedding attire. Money in Chinese societies is traditionally given in red packets.
Red ink is also used to denote debt - as well as losses on a balance sheet (hence the phrase, "in the red" usually indicates economic losses).
In North American stock markets, red is used to denote a drop in stock prices. In East Asian stock markets, red is used to denote a rise in stock prices.
In maps of political parties, red is traditionally used for the following parties:
- Australia: Labor
- Brazil: Workers' Party
- Canada: Liberal Party of Canada
- Finland: Social Democratic Party of Finland
- Germany: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (Social Democratic party of Germany) and Partei des Demokratischen Sozialismus (Party of Democratic Socialism)
- Malta: Malta Labour Party
- New Zealand: New Zealand Labour Party
- The Netherlands: Partij van de Arbeid (Social Democratic party), Socialistische Partij (Socialist Party)
- Portugal: Portuguese Communist Party (and the Unitarian Democratic Coalition, of which the PCP is part of)
- Sweden: Swedish Social Democratic Party and the Left Party (Sweden)
- United Kingdom: Labour Party
- United States: Republican Party, since the 2000 presidential election, when contrasted with blue representing Democratic Party.
Red is one of the Christmas colors, with green, white, or both.
Red, along with yellow and orange, is thought to provoke hunger, hence its use in logos by food vendors.
In the history of Japan red is the color of military flags used by the Heike (or Taira) clan and of the Genji (or Minamoto) clan, two clans that struggled for power at the close of the Heian era, in the late 12th century.
Red is the color claimed by the street gangs Bloods and Norteños.
Red is the word for a fish of the genus Myripristis in Tobian.
Red is an album by progressive rock band King Crimson.
Red is the color of the lowest-value balls in snooker. There are 15 at the beginning of a game, each worth 1 point.
Red Indians is a British term for Native Americans.
Red and black are colors associated with anarchism, and, specifically, anarcho-syndicalism.
Red is the color commonly associated with the British Army (e.g., Redcoats) and is also used to describe someone of British nationality.
Red is the color often used for the Roman, British and Soviet Empires.
Red is the color used for critical or important systems (such as emergency lighting) that operate in low-light or night-time conditions, as rod cells in the human eye do not respond to it and therefore does not interfere in the eye's ability to focus in dim environments.
A red filter used in black and white photography increases contrast in most scenes. For example, combined with a polarizer, it can turn the sky black. Films simulating the effects of infrared film (such as Ilford's SFX 200) do so by being much more sensitive to red than to other colors.
Oxygenated blood is red due to the presence of oxygenated hemoglobin. Red light is the first to be absorbed by sea water, so that many fish and marine invertebrates that appear bright red are black in their native habitat.
Red is the color of the coat of arms of Ħamrun, Malta.
In the United States Army, red is the color of the artillery and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Brick red is the color of the United States Army Transportation Corps, while crimson is the color of the Ordnance Corps, and Maroon is that of the Medical Corps.
In the Finnish Army, red is the color of artillery. Black symbols on a red field signify field artillery, white symbols signify anti-aircraft artillery.
In Finland, bright red is the "color of technology". It is seen in TKY regalia; also, the student union of chemical engineering has bright red as its distinctive color. Its use is traditional, tracing its history back into the 19th century. It probably originated from the red insignia identifying artillery.
Red is the national colour of Wales
RED is the name of a Metal rock band, first album titled "End of Silence", released in 2006 under Essential Records Official RED Website
In the United States wearing red clothing is promoted by some groups to symbolize support for or opposition against the Iraq War, or to spread awareness about heart disease. See: Red Friday

One screen is called Red Screen of Death
Red is also used to symbolize AIDS awareness or Drug awareness, in the form of a red ribbon

In fiction

In the original Star Trek series, red uniforms are for engineering and security personnel. (On away missions, ensigns in a red uniform would often get killed.) From The Next Generation onwards, red uniforms are for command personnel.
In the Power Rangers and Super Sentai series, the Red Ranger is usually the leader of the team, and always the most powerful member. Most Red Rangers in Power Rangers and all Red Warriors in Super Sentai have been male, but there has been an exception in SPD.
In the Star Wars universe, red is traditionally (although not always in the Expanded Universe) the color of light sabers used by the Sith, evil users of the Force. This is because a red lightsaber crystal is synthetically made, and therefore separated from the natural world. A red crystal is supposed to be stronger. The Jedi traditionally avoid using or making red lightsabers. In Knights of the Old Republic video games, red represents the dark side of the Force.
In the The Gathering trading card game, Red is the color associated with dealing damage, with direct-damage cards and creatures with large power in relation to toughness. See Seeing Red, an article by head Magic designer Mark Rosewater for more.
Red is the last film in the Three Colors trilogy by Krzysztof Kieślowski.
In the Disney/Pixar film, The Incredibles, red is worn by the entire Incredible Family. In the Disney on Ice play, Disney Presents Pixar's The Incredibles in a Magic Kingdom Adventure, Helen briefly has objections about how red her super-suit looks.
In the 1983 television mini-series V and The Final Battle (1984), as well as the short-lived weekly series that followed, all of the Visitors wear red jumpsuits.

Variations

Scarlet - a shade of red that tends towards red-orange and has no hint of blue
Vermilion - a fiery shade of red that tends toward red-orange to a slightly greater degree than scarlet, prepared from cinnabar, the artificial red sulphide of mercury used as a pigment
Pink - a very light, unsaturated red, traditionally the color of pinks
Maroon - a deep, dark, brownish (desaturated) red
Venetian Red (also known as India Red or Indian Red) - A shade of brownish red prepared from sulphate of iron.
Carmine - a dark, blue-tinged red traditionally the color of a dye made from the cochineal insect
Rose is a range of colors on the blue side of red
- Damask specifically refers to the color of the Damask rose.
Crimson - a shade of red that has no hint of yellow and leans towards red-violet
Cardinal - a vivid red
Cerise - another dark blue-red
Peach is a range of colors on the yellow side of red and generally tending toward a light tint.
Burgundy - another dark, sometimes grayish violet-red

Shades, Tones, Tints, etc

Shades	Description	Tones	Description	Tints	Description	Other	Description
Maroon	A darker shade of red that is much like brown	Pink	Lightish red.	Rose	As its name implies: A shade of red much like that of a rose. This shade is half pure red and half maroon	Raspberry	A shade of red that is a combination of purple and red with slightly more red

In other languages

Hungarian has two words for red, medium piros and dark vörös, which are distinct colors the way red and pink are distinct colors in English. In Turkish there are numerous words for red: Al generally refers to the color of blood and related things (blushing, Turkish flag); Kızıl is bright red, and generally refers to fire or rebellion (sunset, communist). Kırmızı is a more general word for red, without strong emotional meaning. In some decorating and fashion contexts, shades of red are describes by reference to the colors of fruits and vegetable that commonly match that shade. These include cherries, beets, turnips, strawberries (often used in referring to "strawberry blonde" hair), and raspberries (as referenced in the Prince song, "Raspberry Beret". While the most popular color for apples is a dark shade of red, the fruit is usually invoked in fashion or decorating to reference a pale yellowish green. In Welsh a "blue" movie (i.e. pornographic) is called a ffilm goch (a red movie). Red is "lal" in Bangla. In Sanskrit, "arun" can refer to a shade resembling vermillion.

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Usage, symbolism, and colloquial expressions

In fiction

Variations

Shades, Tones, Tints, etc

In other languages

Red pigments

See also