Learn about the terminology used to describe television brightness, color, and gamma—a measure of how the display transitions from pure black to pure white.

HDR, or High Dynamic Range, increases image detail by expanding the range of the darkest black and the brightest white and the steps between them.

Analog television broadcasts were encoded at different frame rates worldwide to align with the frequency of alternating current in the region's electrical grids.

Only one pixel is activated at a time on a CRT television, even when you watch an entire screen of video.

LCD displays use the same principle as polarizing sunglasses, which act as filters that block light waves traveling with specific orientations.

Cathode-ray tube televisions were once one of the most common particle accelerators, producing images by firing electrons at screens.

Color originates from the brain processing light of varying wavelengths

The frame rate of US analog television signals was reduced from 30 to 29.97 to ensure color broadcasts were still compatible with black-and-white televisions.

Colorizers convert Hubble's gray scale images into color composites of different wavelengths

Humans can distinguish an estimated 10 million colors—a number that is limited by photopigments that only activate when exposed to specific wavelengths of light.

Unlike LCDs, OLEDs do not have a backlight behind every pixel, enabling them to deliver theoretically infinite contrast and deeper blacks.

Modern media exposure may impact whether people dream in color or black and white.

In the early 2000s, the average color of the universe was determined by averaging the visible light from 200,000 galaxies, yielding a light beige dubbed 'cosmic latte.'

LEDs emit pure colors, while incandescent bulbs filter white light

How David Attenborough's work in color television gave tennis balls their color

Not all colored materials can become pigments—the process of grinding materials down into smaller particles may destroy the color-producing molecules.

By converting ultraviolet light into visible light and reflecting specific visible colors, fluorescent pigments can often provide much brighter, neon-like color than traditional pigments.

Sunsets can exhibit a greater variety of colors due to a greater range of cloud heights and atmospheric composition.

Atmospheric composition and temperature impact the color of lightning

View the electromagnetic spectrum and the properties of different types of light

Starting with red, colorful objects will appear to lose their colors the deeper they are submerged because water scatters light, reducing the amount available to reflect off objects and be observed.

By separating light with tools such as prisms, scientists can reveal the presence and composition of celestial matter by identifying color fingerprints unique to specific elements and molecules.

Violet is the rarest color in nature because it is the most energetically demanding visible light for pigments to reflect and for nanostructures to scatter.

Some sounds that have been shown to affect mood and noise have been given color names, such as brown, pink, and green noise, corresponding their frequencies to those of light.

The creator of 'The Simpsons' made his characters yellow so they would contrast with everything else on TV.

Scientists can simulate years of studio light exposure in hours using a xenon chamber, enabling them to test a pigment's resistance to fading.

Some organisms' colors come from structural color—tiny structures that distinctly scatter different colors of light, eliminating some while reinforcing others that become visible.

The first television image transmission was displayed to the public in 1926 and used a mechanical television consisting of rotating disks.

The majority of the 100,000 natural compounds that produce colors are pigments, which can be categorized based on their chemical structure.

Breaking down sunlight and why the sun appears yellow despite emitting green light the most

View a breakdown of the semiconducting materials behind LEDs, which can produce different wavelengths of light through the introduction of chemical impurities.

Leftover radiation from the Big Bang accounts for about 1% of the static in analog television signals.

When processing light, the brain can perceive colors with no natural wavelength

Blacklights can illuminate certain biological materials, including blood, teeth, and fingernails, because they contain fluorophores—molecules that visibly glow immediately after exposure to higher-energy light.

By analyzing the color of starlight, astronomers can determine how fast stars within a galaxy are moving toward or away from Earth, revealing the expansion rate of the universe.

Red and blue election maps are a modern media invention

A photo's brightness can be controlled by the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO

View an animation of how certain chemicals fluoresce—that is, emit visible light after having absorbed higher-energy light, such as ultraviolet radiation.

Vision experts generally don't recommend blue-light-blocking glasses because there's no scientific evidence that the light from computer screens damages eyes.

Each pixel in a micro-LED display gets its color from electrifying inorganic materials, which are more durable and resilient than the organic materials in OLEDs.

The RGB color system resembles how quantum chromodynamics models quarks and the strong nuclear force—both quarks and gluons carry color charge.

Quantum dots are nanocrystals that can emit different colors, even when made of the same material, depending on their size.

The design of a psychiatric ward in Norway aims to integrate more circadian rhythm-friendly lights as part of its treatment protocols for conditions including psychosis, severe depression, and more.

The term 'television' comes from the Greek and Latin terms for 'seeing at a distance' and was coined at the 1900 World's Fair in Paris.

In television and film, certain sounds, such as dialogue, may be difficult to understand due to sound mixing, device limitations, and technological advancements that have collectively reduced clarity.

The colors of auroras change with the intensity of solar activity and with altitude because of differences in atmospheric density and chemical composition.

Lasers are classified based on their gain medium and mode of emission

As the universe expands, the color of light shifts as it travels through space

Variations in the energy of light force the use of multiple telescopes

The deaths of massive stars and the mergers of neutron stars and black holes can produce gamma-ray bursts—jets of particles moving in opposite directions at near-light speed that comprise the universe's most powerful explosions.

While published images have suggested that Neptune is much bluer than Uranus, the two ice giants are a similarly pale shade of greenish-blue.