Darkness (also called lightlessness) is the absence of light. Light, or visible light, is Electromagnetic radiation of a Wavelength that is visible to the Human eye (about 400–700 Scientifically it is only possible to have a reduced amount of light. The emotional response to an absence of light has inspired metaphor in literature, symbolism in art, and emphasis.

Scientific

A dark object reflects fewer visible photons than other objects, and therefore appears dim in comparison. In Physics, the photon is the Elementary particle responsible for electromagnetic phenomena For example, matte black paint does not reflect visible light and appears dark, but white paint reflects all visible light and appears bright. ^[1] For more information see color.

However; light cannot simply be absorbed without limit. Energy, like visible light, cannot be created or destroyed. In Physics and other Sciences energy (from the Greek grc ἐνέργεια - Energeia, "activity operation" from grc ἐνεργός It can only be converted from one type of energy to another. Most objects that absorb visible light reemit it as infrared light. ^[2] So, although an object may appear dark, it is likely bright at a frequency that a human being cannot see. For more information see thermodynamics. In Physics, thermodynamics (from the Greek θερμη therme meaning " Heat " and δυναμις dynamis meaning "

A dark area has few, if any, light sources present, making everything hard to see, like at night. Exposure to alternating light and darkness (night and day) has caused several evolutionary adaptations to darkness. When a vertebrate, like a human, is placed in a dark area, its iris dilates, allowing more light to enter the eye and improving night vision. Vertebrates are members of the Subphylum Vertebrata, Chordates with backbones or spinal columns The grouping sometimes includes The iris consists of Pigmented Fibrovascular tissue known as a stroma. Night vision is the ability to see in a dark environment Whether by biological or technological means night vision is made possible by a combination of two approaches sufficient

The scientific definition of light includes the entire electromagnetic spectrum, not just visible light, so it is scientifically impossible to create perfect darkness. The electromagnetic (EM spectrum is the range of all possible Electromagnetic radiation frequencies For example, all objects radiate heat in the form of infrared light and gamma rays, extremely high frequency light, can penetrate even dense materials. Infrared ( IR) radiation is Electromagnetic radiation whose Wavelength is longer than that of Visible light, but shorter than that of Gamma rays (denoted as &gamma) are a form of Electromagnetic radiation or light emission of frequencies produced by sub-atomic particle interactions ^[3]

Poetic

Ivan Kramskoy's "Unconsolable Grief": In many cultures, wearing of dark colors shows grief

As a poetic term, darkness can also mean the presence of shadows, evil, or depression. Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoi ( June 8 (OS May 27 1837 - April 6 (O

Darkness can have a strong psychological impact. It can cause depression in people with seasonal affective disorder, fear in nyctophobics, comfort in lygophilics, or attraction as in gothic fashion. Seasonal affective disorder ( SAD) also known as winter depression, is a Mood disorder in which people who have normal mental health throughout most of the year experience The fear of the dark is a common Fear among Children and to a varying degree is observed for adults Gothic fashion is a clothing style worn by members of the Goth subculture. These emotions are used to add power to literary imagery.

Religious texts often use darkness to make a visual point. In the Bible, darkness was the second to last plague (Exodus 10:21) and the location of “weeping and gnashing of teeth. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin ” (Matthew 8:12)^[4] The Qur’an has been interpreted to say that those who transgress the bounds of what is right are doomed to “burning despair and ice-cold darkness. The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran ” (Nab 78. 25)^[5] In Greek Mythology, three layers of night surround Tartarus,^[6] a place for the worst sinners as far beneath Hades as heaven is high above earth. In classic Greek mythology below Heaven, Earth, and Pontus is Tartarus, or Tartaros ( Greek Τάρταρος deep place Hades (from Greek, Hadēs, originally, Haidēs or, Aidēs, probably from Indo-European *n̥-wid- 'unseen' refers both to the ancient ^[7]

The Hindu goddess Kalí (black, dark colored) is also closely associated with darkness and violence. Devi ( Devanagari: देवी) is the Sanskrit word for Goddess, used mostly in Hinduism. Kali redirects here See Kali (disambiguation for other uses Not to be confused with Kali (demon, the personification of Kali Yuga Although she is equally associated with motherhood and benevolence. "Mom" "Mum" and "Mommy" redirect here

In Chinese philosophy Yin is the feminine part of the Taijitu and is represented by a dark lobe. Chinese philosophy is Philosophy written in the Chinese tradition of thought In Chinese philosophy, the concept of yin and yang ( is used to describe how seemingly opposing forces are bound together intertwined and interdependent in the

The use of darkness as a rhetorical device has a long standing tradition. In Rhetoric, a rhetorical device or resource of language is a technique that an author or speaker uses to evoke an Emotional response in the audience (the Shakespeare, working in the 16th and 17th centuries, made a character call Satan the “prince of darkness” (King Lear: III, iv) and gave darkness jaws with which to devour love. King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1603 and 1606 and is considered one of his greatest works (A Midsummer Night’s Dream: I, i)^[8] Chaucer, a 14th century Middle English writer, wrote that knights must cast away the “workes of darkness. A Midsummer Night's Dream is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, suggested by " The Knight's Tale " from ”^[9] Dante described hell as “solid darkness stain’d. ”^[10]

Even in Old English there were three words that could mean darkness; heolstor, genip, and sceadu. ^[11] Heolstor also meant “hiding-place” and became holster, genip meant “mist” and fell out of use like many strong verbs, it is however still used in the Dutch saying "in het geniep" which means secretly, sceadu meant “shadow” and remained in use. Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname The word darkness eventually evolved from the word deorc, which meant “dark”. ^[12]

Artistic

Caravaggio's The Calling of St Matthew uses darkness for its chiaroscuro effects. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, usually just known as Caravaggio, (28 September 1571 – 18 July 1610 was an Italian Artist active in Rome The Calling of Saint Matthew is a masterpiece by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio completed in 1599-1600 for the Contarelli Chapel in the church of

Artistically, darkness can also be used to emphasize or contrast with light. See chiaroscuro for a discussion of the uses of such contrasts in visual media. Chiaroscuro ( Italian for light-dark) is a term in Art for a contrast between light and dark

Color paints are mixed together to create darkness, because each color absorbs certain frequencies of light. Paint is any Liquid, liquifiable or mastic composition which after application to a substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque Solid Theoretically, mixing together the three primary colors, or the three secondary colors, will absorb all visible light and create black. In practice it is difficult to prevent the mixture from taking on a brown tint.

The color of a point, on a standard 24-bit computer display, is defined by three numbers between 0 and 255, one each for red, green, and blue. In Digital imaging, a pixel ( pict ure el ement is the smallest piece of information in an image A visual display unit, often called simply a monitor or display, is a piece of Electrical equipment which displays images generated from the Video Because the absence of light creates darkness, darker colors are closer to (0,0,0).

Pens use darkness, commonly in the form of blue or black ink, to make clear markings on bright paper, commonly white or yellow. Letters displayed on a computer display are also usually created dark, often in the same blue and black colors, on a light background. This difference in brightness levels is called contrast and makes smaller letters readable. Contrast is the difference in visual properties that makes an object (or its representation in an image distinguishable from other objects and the background

Paintings may use darkness to create leading lines and voids, among other things. A leading line is a line formed by a pair of marks which are generally man-made that are used in Position fixing and Navigation, to indicate a safe passage through These shapes are designed to draw the eye around the painting. Shadows add perspective.

See also

• Plagues of Egypt
• Dark tourism - travel to sites associated with death and suffering. The Plagues of Egypt ( the Biblical Plagues or the Ten Plagues ( are the ten calamities imposed upon Egypt by God in the Bible Dark tourism (also black tourism or grief tourism) is Tourism involving travel to sites associated with Death and Suffering. Travel is the change in location of people on a trip through the means of Transport from one location to another Death is the termination of the biological functions that define living Organisms It refers both to a specific Suffering, or pain, is an individual's basic Affective experience of unpleasantness and aversion associated with harm or threat of harm
• Dark Ages - unenlightened times. This article is about the phrase "Dark Age(s" as a characterization of the Early Middle Ages in Western Europe

References