Free to follow every thread. No paywall, no dead ends.
Red: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Red
Inside cave 13B at Pinnacle Point on the coast of South Africa, paleoanthropologists discovered evidence that between 170,000 and 40,000 years ago, Late Stone Age people were scraping and grinding ochre, a clay colored red by iron oxide. This was not merely a practical activity but a deliberate attempt to color their bodies, marking one of the earliest known uses of red pigment in human history. Red hematite powder was also found scattered around the remains at a grave site in a Zhoukoudian cave complex near Beijing, a site with evidence of habitation as early as 700,000 years ago. The hematite might have been used to symbolize blood in an offering to the dead, suggesting that the color red held a profound spiritual or ritualistic significance for early humans long before the invention of writing. Red, black, and white were the first colors used by artists in the Upper Paleolithic age, probably because natural pigments such as red ochre and iron oxide were readily available where early people lived. The cave of Altamira in Spain contains a painting of a bison colored with red ochre that dates to between 15,000 and 16,500 BC, demonstrating that the color was central to the visual language of our ancestors.
The Blood of Kings and Gods
In ancient Egypt, red was associated with life, health, and victory. Egyptians would color themselves with red ochre during celebrations, and women used red ochre as a cosmetic to redden cheeks and lips, as well as henna to color their hair and paint their nails. The ancient Romans wore togas with red stripes on holidays, and the bride at a wedding wore a red shawl called a flammeum. Red was used to color statues and the skin of gladiators, and it was the color associated with the army. Roman soldiers wore red tunics, and officers wore a cloak called a paludamentum which, depending upon the quality of the dye, could be crimson, scarlet, or purple. In Roman mythology, red was associated with the god of war, Mars. The vexilloid of the Roman Empire had a red background with the letters SPQR in gold. A Roman general receiving a triumph had his entire body painted red in honor of his achievement. The Romans liked bright colors, and many Roman villas were decorated with vivid red murals. The pigment used for many of the murals was called vermilion, and it came from the mineral cinnabar, a common ore of mercury. It was one of the finest reds of ancient times, and the paintings have retained their brightness for more than twenty centuries. The source of cinnabar for the Romans was a group of mines near Almadén, southwest of Madrid, in Spain. Working in the mines was extremely dangerous, since mercury is highly toxic; the miners were slaves or prisoners, and being sent to the cinnabar mines was a virtual death sentence.
When did Late Stone Age people start using red ochre at Pinnacle Point?
Late Stone Age people began using red ochre at Pinnacle Point between 170,000 and 40,000 years ago. This activity involved scraping and grinding the clay to create a red pigment from iron oxide. The evidence was found inside cave 13B on the coast of South Africa.
What is the wavelength range of red light visible to the human eye?
The human eye sees red light when it looks at wavelengths between approximately 625 and 740 nanometers. This range defines the color red in the RGB color model. Light just past this range is called infrared and cannot be seen by human eyes.
When was the ruby laser invented and what was its significance?
Lasers emitting in the red region of the spectrum became available with the invention of the ruby laser in 1960. This invention enabled widespread scientific applications including holography and education. Red helium neon lasers were invented in 1962 and were used commercially in LaserDisc players.
Why is Mars called the Red Planet?
Mars is called the Red Planet because its surface has a reddish color imparted by abundant iron oxide. This geological feature gives the planet its distinctive appearance. The iron oxide is present in the soil and rocks of the Martian surface.
When did the British Army adopt the red military uniform?
The red military uniform was adopted by the English Parliament's New Model Army in 1645. This uniform was still worn as a dress uniform by the British Army until the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914. Ordinary soldiers wore red coats dyed with madder while officers wore scarlet coats dyed with cochineal.
When did the People's Republic of China adopt the red flag?
The People's Republic of China adopted the red flag following the Chinese Communist Revolution. This event occurred after the Soviet Union adopted a red flag following the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. The red flag was also adopted by North Vietnam in 1954 and by all of Vietnam in 1975.
In the 18th century, red began to take on a new identity as the color of resistance and revolution. It was already associated with blood, and with danger; a red flag hoisted before a battle meant that no prisoners would be taken. In 1793, 94, red became the color of the French Revolution. A red Phrygian cap, or liberty cap, was part of the uniform of the sans-culottes, the most militant faction of the revolutionaries. In Paris in 1832, a red flag was carried by working-class demonstrators in the failed June Rebellion, an event immortalized in Les Misérables, and later in the 1848 French Revolution. The red flag was proposed as the new national French flag during the 1848 revolution, but was rejected by the poet and statesman Alphonse Lamartine in favor of the tricolor flag. It appeared again as the flag of the short-lived Paris Commune in 1871. It was then adopted by Karl Marx and the new European movements of socialism and communism. Soviet Russia adopted a red flag following the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. The People's Republic of China adopted the red flag following the Chinese Communist Revolution. It was adopted by North Vietnam in 1954, and by all of Vietnam in 1975. In the 19th century, with the Industrial Revolution and the rise of worker's movements, red became the color of socialism, and, with the Paris Commune of 1871, of revolution. In the 20th century, red was the color first of the Russian Bolsheviks and then, after the success of the Russian Revolution of 1917, of communist parties around the world. However, after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia went back to the pre-revolutionary blue, white, and red flag.
The Science of Seeing Red
The human eye sees red when it looks at light with a wavelength between approximately 625 and 740 nanometers. It is a primary color in the RGB color model, and the light just past this range is called infrared, or below red, and cannot be seen by human eyes, although it can be sensed as heat. In the language of optics, red is the color evoked by light that stimulates neither the S or the M cone cells of the retina, combined with a fading stimulation of the L cone cells. Primates can distinguish the full range of the colors of the spectrum visible to humans, but many kinds of mammals, such as dogs and cattle, have dichromacy, which means they can see blues and yellows, but cannot distinguish red and green. Bulls, for instance, cannot see the red color of the cape of a bullfighter, but they are agitated by its movement. One theory for why primates developed sensitivity to red is that it allowed ripe fruit to be distinguished from unripe fruit and inedible vegetation. This may have driven further adaptations by species taking advantage of this new ability, such as the emergence of red faces. Red light is used to help adapt night vision in low-light or night time, as the rod cells in the human eye are not sensitive to red. Red hair occurs naturally on approximately 1, 2% of the human population. It occurs more frequently in people of northern or western European ancestry, and less frequently in other populations. Red hair appears in people with two copies of a recessive gene on chromosome 16 which causes a mutation in the MC1R protein. Red hair varies from a deep burgundy through burnt orange to bright copper, and is characterized by high levels of the reddish pigment pheomelanin and relatively low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin.
The Color of War and Peace
Red is the traditional color of warning and danger, and is therefore often used on flags. In the Middle Ages up through the French Revolution, a red flag shown in warfare indicated the intent to take no prisoners. Similarly, a red flag hoisted by a pirate ship meant no mercy would be shown to their target. In Britain, in the early days of motoring, motor cars had to follow a man with a red flag who would warn horse-drawn vehicles, before the Locomotives on Highways Act 1896 abolished this law. In automobile races, the red flag is raised if there is danger to the drivers. In international football, a player who has made a serious violation of the rules is shown a red penalty card and ejected from the game. The red military uniform was adopted by the English Parliament's New Model Army in 1645, and was still worn as a dress uniform by the British Army until the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914. Ordinary soldiers wore red coats dyed with madder, while officers wore scarlet coats dyed with the more expensive cochineal. This led to British soldiers being known as red coats. In the modern British army, scarlet is still worn by the Foot Guards, the Life Guards, and by some regimental bands or drummers for ceremonial purposes. Scarlet is worn for some full dress, military band or mess uniforms in the modern armies of a number of the countries that made up the former British Empire. The musicians of the United States Marine Corps Band wear red, following an 18th-century military tradition that the uniforms of band members are the reverse of the uniforms of the other soldiers in their unit. Red Serge is the uniform of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, created in 1873 as the North-West Mounted Police, and given its present name in 1920.
The Red Planet and the Red Giant
Mars is called the Red Planet because of the reddish color imparted to its surface by the abundant iron oxide present there. Astronomical objects that are moving away from the observer exhibit a Doppler red shift. Jupiter's surface displays a Great Red Spot caused by an oval-shaped mega storm south of the planet's equator. Red giants are stars that have exhausted the supply of hydrogen in their cores and switched to thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen in a shell that surrounds its core. They have radii tens to hundreds of times larger than that of the Sun. However, their outer envelope is much lower in temperature, giving them an orange hue. Despite the lower energy density of their envelope, red giants are many times more luminous than the Sun due to their large size. Red supergiants like Betelgeuse, Antares, Mu Cephei, VV Cephei, and VY Canis Majoris, one of the biggest stars in the Universe, are the biggest variety of red giants. They are huge in size, with radii 200 to 1700 times greater than the Sun, but relatively cool in temperature, causing their distinct red tint. A red dwarf is a small and relatively cool star, which has a mass of less than half that of the Sun and a surface temperature of less than 4,000 K. Red dwarfs are by far the most common type of star in the Galaxy, but due to their low luminosity, from Earth, none are visible to the naked eye. Interstellar reddening is caused by the extinction of radiation by dust and gas. Lasers emitting in the red region of the spectrum have been available since the invention of the ruby laser in 1960. In 1962 the red helium, neon laser was invented, and these two types of lasers were widely used in many scientific applications including holography, and in education. Red helium, neon lasers were used commercially in LaserDisc players. The use of red laser diodes became widespread with the commercial success of modern DVD players, which use a 660 nm laser diode technology.
The Scarlet Letter and the Red Light
Red was long seen as having a dark side, particularly in Christian theology. It was associated with sexual passion, anger, sin, and the devil. In the Old Testament of the Bible, the Book of Isaiah said: Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. In the New Testament, in the Book of Revelation, the Antichrist appears as a red monster, ridden by a woman dressed in scarlet, known as the Whore of Babylon. Satan is often depicted as colored red and/or wearing a red costume in both iconography and popular culture. By the 20th century, the devil in red had become a folk character in legends and stories. The devil in red appears more often in cartoons and movies than in religious art. In 17th-century New England, red was associated with adultery. In the 1850 novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, set in a Puritan New England community, a woman is punished for adultery with ostracism, her sin represented by a red letter A sewn onto her clothes. Red is still commonly associated with prostitution. At various points in history, prostitutes were required to wear red to announce their profession. Houses of prostitution displayed a red light. Beginning in the early 20th century, houses of prostitution were allowed only in certain specified neighborhoods, which became known as red-light districts. Large red-light districts are found today in Bangkok and Amsterdam. In the handkerchief code, the color red signifies interest in the sexual act of fisting. In both Christian and Hebrew tradition, red is also sometimes associated with murder or guilt, with having blood on one's hands, or being caught red-handed. Red is the color that most attracts attention. Surveys show it is the color most frequently associated with visibility, proximity, and extroverts. It is also the color most associated with dynamism and activity. Red is used in modern fashion much as it was used in Medieval painting; to attract the eyes of the viewer to the person who is supposed to be the center of attention. People wearing red seem to be closer than those dressed in other colors, even if they are actually the same distance away. Monarchs, wives of presidential candidates and other celebrities often wear red to be visible from a distance in a crowd. It is also commonly worn by lifeguards and others whose job requires them to be easily found.