Munsell
Colour
The Universal Language
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Munsell
Notation
The
complete Munsell notation for a chromatic colour is written
symbolically: H V/C. For a vivid red having a hue of 5R,
a value of 6 and a chroma of 14, the complete notation
is 5R 6/14. When a finer division is needed for any of
the attributes, decimals are used. For example, 5.3R 6.1/14.4.
When the hues of the primary hue circle are used, the
notation is written in the same way, for example 2B' 5/4.
The notation for a neutral colour is written: N V/. (The
chroma of a neutral colour is zero, but it is customary
to omit the zero in the notation.)
The notation N 1/ denotes a black, a very dark neutral,
while N 9/ denotes a white, a very light neutral. The
notation for a middle grey is N 5/.
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Munsell
Colour Space
Munsell hue, value and chroma can be varied independently
so that all colours can be arranged according to the three
attributes in a three-dimensional space. The neutral colours
are placed along a vertical line, called the "neutral
axis," with black at the bottom, white at the top and
all Grays in between. The different hues are displayed at
various angles around the neutral axis. The chroma scale
is perpendicular to the axis, increasing outward. This three
dimensional arrangement of colours is called the ''Munsell
colour space" The relationship of the three scales
in three-dimensional space is illustrated in Figure 5 (Left).
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Munsell
Colour Solid
All colours lie within a specific region of Munsell
colour space called the ''Munsell colour solid" Hue
is limited to one turn around the circle. The scale of value
is limited on the lower end by pure black, which is as dark
as a colour can be, and on the top by pure white, which
is as light as a colour can be. For a given value, there
is a limit to the chroma that is possible, even with theoretically
ideal colouring agents. Real colouring agents, with less
than ideal characteristics, impose further limitations on
physical representations of the colour solid. The Munsell
colour order system itself is applicable to all possible
colours. The highest chroma yellow colours have rather high
values, while the highest chroma blue colours have lower
values. Thus the Munsell colour solid has the irregular
shape shown in Figure 6 (Right). |
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