Hex triplet #7DF9FF CMYK (c, m, y, k) (51, 2, 0, 0) | sRGB (r, g, b) (125, 249, 255) HSV (h, s, v) (183°, 51%, 100%) | |
Electric blue is a color whose definition varies but is often considered close to cyan and that is a representation of the color of lightning, an electric spark, and the color of ionized argon gas; it was originally named after the ionized air glow produced during electrical discharges, though its meaning has broadened to include shades of blue that are metaphorically "electric" by virtue of being "intense" or particularly "vibrant".
Contents
- Deep electric blue French electric blue
- Iridescent electric blue
- Medium electric blue
- Dark electric blue
- Crustaceans
- Astrology
- Computing
- Film
- Literature
- Music
- Panelology
- Physics
- References
The first recorded use of electric blue as a color name in English was in 1845. The color electric blue (the version shown below as medium electric blue) was in vogue in the 1890s.
Deep electric blue (French electric blue)
The deep tone of electric blue displayed at right is the color called bleu électrique in the Pourpre.com color list, a color list widely popular in France.
Iridescent electric blue
This shade of electric blue reflects the kind which is only metaphorically "electric". Its iridescence is also metaphoric.
Medium electric blue
The color displayed at right titled medium electric blue matches the color of the color sample (taken from a textile sample) of the original called electric blue that "had an immense vogue in the latter 19th century".
Still today, this tone of electric blue is a typical contemporary "electric blue" fabric color that is used in manufacturing for the mass market.
Dark electric blue
Dark electric blue is a dark cyan color that is the color called electric blue in the ISCC-NBS color list.
Source of the color dark electric blue:
Crustaceans
The electric blue crayfish is a species of freshwater crayfish endemic to Florida. The electric blue gecko was first discovered by biologist William in the 1950s.
Astrology
The color electric blue is associated with the astrological sign of Aquarius.
Computing
The color electric blue is used in the logo and site of Arch Linux, a popular Linux distribution.
Film
Electric Blue was the name of a 1980s soft-core pornographic television series on The Playboy Channel and its feature film spin-off.
Literature
An electric blue dress features in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches", a Sherlock Holmes story.
Gerty MacDowell wears an electric blue blouse in James Joyce's novel Ulysses, set in 1904, 'because it was expected in the Lady's Pictorial that electric blue would be worn'.
Music
"Electric Blue" is a 1987 song released by the Australian band Icehouse, co-written with John Oates. The color of the album is shown at right.
Panelology
In a 1998 retelling of the original 1963 story of Superman Red/Superman Blue, Superman is temporarily deprived of the solar energy needed to provide the energy his body required to give him powers and Superman develops electricity-based abilities, which eventually forces him to adopt a blue and white containment suit to prevent the energy from dispersing. While retaining most of his abilities, he could now also generate electric attacks rather than his original heat-vision. This version of Superman was referred to by some comic book fans as "Electric Blue Superman".
Physics
The electric blue glow of electricity results from the spectral emission of the excited ionized atoms (or excited molecules) of air (mostly oxygen and nitrogen) falling back to unexcited states, which happens to produce an abundance of electric blue light. This is the reason electrical sparks in air, including lightning, appear electric blue. It is a coincidence that the color of Cherenkov radiation and light emitted by ionized air are a very similar blue despite their very different methods of production.