Post Archive
Region: Astoria
Wait If that count then Nah ItÂ’s me
Imagine missing the end of the world
:(
What happened while i was gone?
idk man I wasn't even here
Hello! :)
Heyo :3
how do you Link an image
https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=205413
Navea
[spoiler=New Arrivals]Gods_New_Kingdom Ohio_Fanum_Tax Gratabon [/spoiler]
Welcome to the Celestial Order of Astoria!
Click on the button below to get some information on how to get started in our region:
[spoiler=HOW TO GET STARTED]
[list][*]First of all you should read our guide (if you haven't) because it contains all the essential info about our region and will be a lot of help to you!
[*]We encourage you to endorse our delegate Koronic!
Not only this helps making the region more powerful and secure, it will also grant you membership in the knightly Order of Astraea!
[*]You should join our regional forum at astorians.boards.net and apply for citizenship which will allow you to legislate, vote, run in elections and even get a position in our government!
[*]If you are interested in worldbuilding and developing your nation, you should definitely join our roleplay and claim land on our map!
[*]We also highly encourage you to join the Astorian Radiant Cavalry and go on raids with your region mates!
[*]Finally we invite you join our Discord server to better engage with our community. Here's the link: https://discord.gg/DZkKXwCkUX[/list]
If you still have questions, do not hesitate to contact the Archkeeper of the Celestium through telegram!
[/spoiler]
This is an automated message.
[img]https://www.snexplores.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1030_LL_trees-1028x579.png[/img]
only works on factbooks bud
I know
welcome to a new series made by me called:
Radom wikipedia articles of the day.
basically I'll copy and paste a random Wikipedia article in the post.
todays article is:
Erhu
The erhu (Chinese: 二胡; pinyin: èrhú; [aɻ˥˩xu˧˥]) is a Chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a Southern Fiddle, and is sometimes known in the Western world as the Chinese violin or a Chinese two-stringed fiddle.
It is used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles and large orchestras. It is the most popular of the huqin family of traditional bowed string instruments used by various ethnic groups of China. As a very versatile instrument, the erhu is used in both traditional and contemporary music arrangements, such as pop, rock and jazz.[1]
History
Performer with erhu
The erhu can be traced back to proto-Mongolic instruments which first appeared in China during the Tang dynasty. It is believed to have evolved from the xiqin (奚琴).[2] The xiqin is believed to have originated from the Xi people located in current northeast China.
The first Chinese character of the name of the instrument (二, èr, 'two') is believed to come from the fact that it has two strings. An alternate explanation states that it comes from the fact that it is the second-highest huqin in pitch to the gaohu in the modern Chinese orchestra. The second character (胡, hú) indicates that it is a member of the huqin family, with hu commonly translated to mean 'barbarians'. The name huqin literally means 'instrument of the Hu peoples', suggesting that the instrument may have originated from regions to the north or west of China generally inhabited by nomadic people on the extremities of past Chinese kingdoms.
For most of history, the erhu was mostly a folk instrument used in southern China, whereas the sihu was preferred among northern musicians. However, in the 1920s, Liu Tianhua introduced the erhu to Beijing, and since, it has become the most popular of the huqin.
Historical erhu and bowed string bows
Historic bowed zithers of China, including the xiqin, yazheng, and wenzhenqin, and also the Korean ajaeng, were originally played by bowing with a rosined stick, which created friction against the strings. As soon as the horsehair bow was invented, it spread very widely.[citation needed]
Construction
The erhu bow between the strings
The erhu consists of a long vertical stick-like neck, at the top of which are two big tuning pegs, and at the bottom is a small resonator body (sound box) which is covered with python skin on the front (playing) end. Two strings are attached from the pegs to the base, and a small loop of string (千斤, qiān jīn) placed around the neck and strings acting as a nut pulls the strings towards the skin, holding a minute wooden bridge in place.
The erhu has some unusual features:
Its characteristic sound is produced through the vibration of the python skin by bowing.
There is no fingerboard; the player stops the strings by pressing their fingertips onto the strings without the strings touching the neck.
The horse hair bow is never separated from the strings (which were formerly of twisted silk but which today are usually made of metal); it passes between them as opposed to over them (the latter being the case with western bowed stringed instruments).
Although there are two strings, they are very close to each other and the player's left hand in effect plays as if on one string. The inside string (nearest to player) is generally tuned to D4 and the outside string to A4, a fifth higher. The maximum range of the instrument is three and a half octaves, from D4 up to A7, before a stopping finger reaches the part of the string in contact with the bow hair. The usual playing range is about two and a half octaves.
Various dense and heavy hardwoods are used in making the erhu. According to Chinese references the woods include zi tan (紫檀, red sandalwood and other woods of the genus Pterocarpus such as padauk), lao hong mu (老红木, aged red wood), wu mu (乌木, black wood), and hong mu (红木, red wood). Particularly fine erhu are often made from pieces of old furniture. A typical erhu measures 81 cm (32 in) from top to bottom, the length of the bow also being 81 cm.
Erhu with ba jiao qin tong (eight-sided body)
The parts of the erhu are:
QÃn tǒng (琴筒), sound box or resonator body; it is hexagonal (liù jiǎo, southern), octagonal (bā jiǎo, northern), or, less commonly, round.
QÃn pÃ/shé pà (琴皮/蛇皮), skin, made from python. The python skin gives the erhu its characteristic sound.
QÃn gān (琴杆), neck.
QÃn tóu (琴頭), top or tip of neck, usually a simple curve with a piece of bone or plastic on top, but is sometimes elaborately carved with a dragon's head.
QÃn zhóu (琴軸). tuning pegs, traditional wooden, or metal machine gear pegs
Qiān jīn (千斤), nut, made from string, or, less commonly, a metal hook
Nèi xián (内弦), inside or inner string, usually tuned to D4, nearest to player
Wà i xián (外弦), outside or outer string, usually tuned to A4
QÃn mǎ (琴碼), bridge, made from wood
Gōng (弓), bow, has screw device to vary bow hair tension
Gōng gān (弓杆), bow stick, made from bamboo
Gōng máo (弓毛), bow hair, usually white horsehair
QÃn dià n (琴墊), pad, a piece of sponge, felt, or cloth placed between the strings and skin below the bridge to improve its sound
QÃn tuō (琴托), base, a piece of wood attached to the bottom of the qÃn tong to provide a smooth surface on which to rest on the leg
Most erhu are mass-produced in factories. The three most esteemed centres of erhu making are Beijing, Shanghai, and Suzhou. In the collectivist period after the establishment of the People's Republic of China, these factories were formed by merging what had been previously private workshops. Although most erhu were machine-made in production lines, the highest quality instruments were handmade by specialist craftsmen.[3]
In the 20th century, there have been attempts to standardize and improve the erhu, with the aim of producing a louder and better sounding instrument. One major change was the use of steel strings instead of silk. The move to steel strings was made gradually. By 1950 the thinner A-string had been replaced by a violin E-string with the thicker D-string remaining silk. By 1958 professional players were using purpose made D and A steel erhu strings as standard.[4]
Use of python skin
Picture showing qianjin, a loop of string which acts as a nut
In 1988 China passed its Law on the Protection of Endangered Species after ratifying the UN Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), making it illegal to use and trade unlicensed pythons.[5] To regulate the use of python skins, China's State Forestry Administration introduced a certification scheme between python skin sellers in Southeast Asia and musical instrument makers in China. From January 1, 2005, new regulations also require erhu to have a certificate from the State Forestry Administration, which certify that the erhu python skin is not made with wild pythons, but from farm-raised pythons. Individuals are allowed to take up to two erhu out of China when traveling; commercial buyers need additional export certificates.
Outside China, manufacturers of erhu can issue their own CITES licenses with approval by governments of their respective countries. Such exports are legal as they have been made from legal skin sources.
Some erhu are made of recycled products.
The Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra began their research for an alternative to python skin in 2005 and has since designed the Eco-Huqin series, which substitutes python skin with PET Polyester Membrane. For this innovation the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra received the Ministry of Culture Innovation Award in 2012.[6]
Erhu music
A blind street performer playing in Jingzhou, Hubei, China, 2006
Blind Chinese street musician, Beijing, 1930
A notable composer for the erhu was Liú Tiānhuá (刘天华/劉天華, 1895–1932), a Chinese musician who also studied Western music. He composed 47 exercises and 10 solo pieces (1918–1932) which were central to the development of the erhu as a solo instrument. His works for the instrument include Yue Ye (月夜; Moon Night) and Zhu ying Yao hong (烛影摇红; Shadows of Candles Flickering Red).
Other solo pieces include Er Quan Ying Yue (1950, Two Springs Reflecting the Moon) by Abing, Sai Ma (Horse Race) by Huang Haihuai, Henan Xiaoqu (Henan Folk Tune) by Liu Mingyuan, and Sanmenxia Changxiangqu (1961, Sanmen Gorge Capriccio) by Liu Wenjin. Most solo works are commonly performed with yangqin accompaniment, although pieces such as the ten solos by Liú Tiānhuá and Er Quan Ying Yue (Two Springs Reflecting the Moon) originally did not have accompaniment.
In addition to the solo repertoire, the erhu is one of the main instruments in regional music ensembles such as Jiangnan sizhu, Chinese opera ensembles, and the modern large Chinese orchestra.
The erhu is used in the music of the Cirque du Soleil show O and in solo performances in select Shen Yun tours. Even fusion progressive rock groups like The Hsu-nami have incorporated the erhu into their music and it is their lead instrument. It is incorporated in the Taiwanese black metal band ChthoniC and used in the song "Field Below" by Regina Spektor.
An instrumental album by erhu artist Song Fei (宋飞) expresses the painting Along the River During the Qingming Festival (清明上河图; QīngmÃng Shà nghé Tú) drawn in the Song dynasty by Zhang Zeduan (张择端). It was performed with the erhu, jinghu, banhu, gaohu, etc., to show the Livelihood, Trade, Festival[clarification needed] of the Song dynasty; the album contains 18 parts.
More recently, the erhu has appeared in several soundtracks, featuring prominently in the TV series Earth: Final Conflict (played by George Gao) and the massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria (played by Jiebing Chen). An erhu solo is featured in several cues related to Vulcans from 2009's Star Trek soundtrack by Michael Giacchino.
Musical groups for wedding celebrations in Cambodia often use the Tro, a similar instrument to the erhu.
An erhu is listed in the credits for the Doug Anthony All Stars album Icon as being played by Paul McDermott. The erhu can be heard in the character songs of China, a character in Axis Powers Hetalia.
In 2020, the release of Genshin Impact, Players around the globe were treated to a mixture of traditional Chinese music and fusion with Western orchestra, including pieces that featured the Erhu heavily.[citation needed]
Comparisons to Western instruments
Violin
The erhu is often described as a Chinese fiddle. However, when compared to a western fiddle (violin), it has several key differences:
While most of both instruments are built largely from wood, the bridge and sound production mechanisms differ greatly. The bridge of an erhu has a flat base, and does not require "fitting" onto an instrument. The reason is that the erhu uses a stretched and flattened python skin as its "top", whereas a violin uses a curved wooden plate.
The python skin is the primary tone-producing surface of the instrument with either no back or a decorative one, but the violin has a sound post that couples the top and the back's vibrations.
The bow's technique also differs. Erhu have the hairs of the bow strung between the two strings, and both sides of the bow hair are used. The violin is played with the bow hair placed on top of the strings.
The erhu has only two strings while violin has four.
Playing technique
The bow is woven between the strings. Because the hairs are slackened, the bow hand is used to press the hairs away from the bow stick to create enough tension to stroke the strings properly.
Tuning
The erhu is almost always tuned to the interval of a fifth. The inside string (nearest to player) is generally tuned to D4 and the outside string to A4. This is the same as the two middle strings of the violin.
Position
The erhu is played sitting down, with the sound box placed on the top of the left thigh and the neck held vertically, in the similar fashion as that of a cello or double bass player. However, performers of more recent years have played while standing up using a specially developed belt-clip.
Right hand
Musician of the NENU Folkloric Orchestra playing erhu in the University of Valencia
The bow is held with an underhand grip. The bow hair is adjusted so it is slightly loose. The fingers of the right hand are used to push the hairs away from the stick in order to create tension in the hairs. The bow hair is placed in between the two strings and both sides of the bow hair are used to produce sound, the player pushes the bow away from the body when bowing the A string (the outside string), and pulls it inwards when bowing the "inside" D string.
Because the bow rests on the barrel, either string can be bowed with minimal effort; the outer string can be played by pressing the stick downwards with the thumb, and the inner string by pressing the hair towards the player with the middle finger. All other fingers are technically unnecessary and are only used to support and stabilize the bow.
Aside from the bowing technique used for most pieces, the erhu can be plucked, usually using the second finger of the right hand. This produces a dry, muted tone (if either of the open strings is plucked, the sound is somewhat more resonant) which is sometimes used in contemporary pieces such as Horse Race.
Left hand
The left hand alters the pitch of the strings by pressing on the string at the desired point. Being a fretless instrument, the player has fine control over tuning. Techniques include hua yin (slides), rou xian (vibrato), and huan ba (changing positions).
Notable performers
See also: List of erhu players
Twelve-member concert group at the Hubei Provincial Museum. The erhu is fourth from left.
Prior to the 20th century, most huqin instruments were used primarily to accompany various forms of Chinese opera and narrative. The use of the erhu as a solo instrument began in the early 20th century along with the development of guoyue (literally 'national music'), a modernized form of Chinese traditional music written or adapted for the professional concert stage. Active in the early 20th century were Zhou Shaomei (周少梅; 1885–1938) and Liú Tiānhuá. Liú laid the foundations of modern erhu playing with his ten unaccompanied solos and 47 studies composed in the 1920s and 1930s. Liu Beimao (刘北茂; 1903–1981) was born in Jiangyin, Jiangsu. His compositions include Xiao Hua Gu (1943) (Little Flower-drum). Jiang Fengzhi (蔣风之; 1908–1986) and Chen Zhenduo (陈振铎) were students of Liú Tiānhuá, the piece Hangong Qiuyue (Autumn Moon over the Han Palace) was adapted and arranged by Jiang. Hua Yanjun (A Bing) (华彥君-阿炳, c. 1893–1950) was a blind street musician. Shortly before his death in 1950, two Chinese musicologists recorded him playing a few erhu and pipa solo pieces, the best-known being Erquan Yingyue.
With the founding of the People's Republic of China and the expansion of the conservatory system, the solo erhu tradition continued to develop. Important performers during this time include Lu Xiutang (陆修堂; 1911–1966), Zhang Rui (张锐; born 1920), Sun Wenming (孙文明; 1928–1962), Huang Haihuai (黄海怀), Liu Mingyuan (刘明源; 1931–1996), Tang Liangde (汤良德; 1938–2010), Zhang Shao (张韶) and Song Guosheng (宋国生).
Liu Mingyuan (刘明源; 1931–1996) was born in Tianjin. He was known for his virtuosity on many instruments of the huqin family, in particular the banhu. His compositions and arrangements include Henan Xiaoqu (Henan Folk Tune) and Cao Yuan Shang (On Grassland) for Zhonghu. For many years, he taught at the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing.
Tang Liangde (Cantonese: Tong Leung Tak; 汤良德; 1938–2010) was born in Shanghai into a famous Shanghainese musical family. He won the "Shanghai's Spring" erhu competition and continued to be the soloist for the Chinese Film Orchestra in Beijing, his composition and solos can be heard throughout the Nixon to China documentary movie. Tang was the soloist and performed at the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, then went on to music broadcasting and education for the Hong Kong Government's Music Office making worldwide tours and was named Art Educator of the Year in 1991 by the Hong Kong Artist Guild.
Wang Guotong (王国潼; born 1939) was born in Dalian, Liaoning. He studied with Jiang Fengzhi, Lan Yusong and Chen Zhenduo and, in 1960, graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. He performed the premiere of Sanmenxia Changxiangqu (Sanmen Gorge Rhapsody) composed by Liu Wenjin. In 1972, Wang became the erhu soloist and later art director of the China Broadcasting Traditional Orchestra. He returned to the Central Conservatory of Music in 1983 as head of the Chinese music department. He has written many books and articles on erhu playing and has performed in many countries. Wang also worked with the Beijing National Instruments Factory to further develop erhu design.
Min Huifen (閔惠芬; 1945–2014) was born in Yixing, Jiangsu. She first became known as the winner of the 1963 fourth Shanghai Spring Art Festival. She studied with Lu Xiutang and Wang Yi, and graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in 1968, and became the erhu soloist with the Shanghai Folk Orchestra. She was the undisputed master of erhu for 50 years.[7]
Xarikistan
Hehe :3
Rock Pumice, Rosartemis
hey :)
Rosartemis
:P
Question of the Day - Nexus Edition
What is your favorite city in the world?
New Shadow Imperium, East Osaka
IDK, Ottawa maybe.
Riko Republic
Esters Park, Colorado
Riko Republic, Thal Dorthat, Calidur
i love stockholm, munich and amsterdam
Riko Republic, Thal Dorthat
Mandatory answer: Twin Cities in MN babyyyyyy
That I've been to: London, hands down
That I haven't been to but still exists: Probably gotta say Venice
That doesn't exist anymore: Give me either the OG Baghdad or
Tenochtitlan
Riko Republic, Coastal States
I adore Estes Park
All good options
New Shadow Imperium
I went there for a Christmas trip, my present was covid
Calidur
Lol, I went to visit Rocky Mountain National Park during COVID, absolutely amazing time since they limited the people coming in
New Shadow Imperium
São Paulo ofc ofc (ignoring the fact that I should've been asleep 2 hours ago) :3
Juspolita
boa mlk
Koronic
[spoiler=New Arrivals]Lamira Fancadium [/spoiler]
Welcome to the Celestial Order of Astoria!
Click on the button below to get some information on how to get started in our region:
[spoiler=HOW TO GET STARTED]
[list][*]First of all you should read our guide (if you haven't) because it contains all the essential info about our region and will be a lot of help to you!
[*]We encourage you to endorse our delegate Koronic!
Not only this helps making the region more powerful and secure, it will also grant you membership in the knightly Order of Astraea!
[*]You should join our regional forum at astorians.boards.net and apply for citizenship which will allow you to legislate, vote, run in elections and even get a position in our government!
[*]If you are interested in worldbuilding and developing your nation, you should definitely join our roleplay and claim land on our map!
[*]We also highly encourage you to join the Astorian Radiant Cavalry and go on raids with your region mates!
[*]Finally we invite you join our Discord server to better engage with our community. Here's the link: https://discord.gg/DZkKXwCkUX[/list]
If you still have questions, do not hesitate to contact the Archkeeper of the Celestium through telegram!
[/spoiler]
This is an automated message.
Lamira
why did i get so many endorsements?
not complaining tho
We encourage WA nations to endorse each other so that's probably why
Juspolita
In terms of cities that I've been to, then Cape Town. Outside of that, I'm a fan of Dutch cities so I'll go with Amsterdam because I don't know too many others.
Riko Republic
Albuquerque
Hey there Astoria! Reminder that you should join the World Assembly! By joining the World Assembly, and endorsing our Delegate, you contribute to keeping Astoria safe and increasing our power on the world stage!
https://www.nationstates.net/page=un
After applying and accepting the membership request (and you can only have 1 nation in the WA!), you can head on over to our WA Delegate, Koronic, scroll over to the bottom of the page, and click the button that says Endorse.
Many thanks!
For a more in-depth explanation of how this works, you can check out this dispatch!
https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1938107
Lamira
Catgirlboss, Rosartemis, Map-Chan
probably nyc
hi all
Adriatic Democratic Empire, Rosartemis
Hello
Good morning Astoria :3
Rock Pumice
Afternoon
[table][tr][td]RP Prompt of the Day[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]What is the most popular book in your nation? How many copies have beeb sold? What is it about?[/td][/tr]
[/table]
Riko Republic
*This is where I canÂ’t let my Intrusive thoughts win*
In all seriousness ItÂ’s The guide to To Lucid manipulation, sold 20 million copies And is a guide to The Art of Lucid manipulation.
[table][tr][td]Question of the Day[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]If you could remove one, non-political thing from this world, what would it be?[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Gyattstoria[/td][/tr]
[tr][td][spoiler=TOTA Answer :3]Pop-up adds[/spoiler][/td][/tr]
[/table]
Unike, Rock Pumice, Catgirlboss
Phones you canÂ’t use earbuds and a charger at the same time
Skibidi Toilet and all associated memes and media
Riko Republic
God so many funny jokes I could make. If it canÂ’t be political, IÂ’ll remove the penny.
Honestly the most popular text is probably the Book of Kings, the scripture of the Four Kings and their church.
From a more broad sense, the most popular book proper is probably The Adventures of Count Darksquid. ItÂ’s about an antok detective who investigates supernatural crimes. The series has spawned a bunch of Darksquid-alikes and revitalized the mystery genre.
Skibidi toilet
Woopera
wise words had never been spoken
[spoiler=New Arrivals]New_Hoboken Alkanuit Karnataka_Dra Fiiand Inter_Galactic [/spoiler]
Welcome to the Celestial Order of Astoria!
Click on the button below to get some information on how to get started in our region:
[spoiler=HOW TO GET STARTED]
[list][*]First of all you should read our guide (if you haven't) because it contains all the essential info about our region and will be a lot of help to you!
[*]We encourage you to endorse our delegate Koronic!
Not only this helps making the region more powerful and secure, it will also grant you membership in the knightly Order of Astraea!
[*]You should join our regional forum at astorians.boards.net and apply for citizenship which will allow you to legislate, vote, run in elections and even get a position in our government!
[*]If you are interested in worldbuilding and developing your nation, you should definitely join our roleplay and claim land on our map!
[*]We also highly encourage you to join the Astorian Radiant Cavalry and go on raids with your region mates!
[*]Finally we invite you join our Discord server to better engage with our community. Here's the link: https://discord.gg/DZkKXwCkUX[/list]
If you still have questions, do not hesitate to contact the Archkeeper of the Celestium through telegram!
[/spoiler]
This is an automated message.
The Holy Bible, all of them, getting to heaven by grace alone threw faith alone.
Dionysou
Hello comrades
I assume you're new, in that case Welcome!
Heyo :3
Ayyy comrade Sugo is back
Indeed! How are you today Nahua?
I'm pretty good :3
Woopera
Hello!
In regards to the poll, IÂ’m going back to Victorian era London. Idk if youÂ’ve see how they dress, but itÂ’s fantastic
Hai
Hai :3
New Shadow Imperium
Hei riko
Astoreus
[spoiler]
[table=noheader][tr][td]West_Renard_Valleys[/td][td]New_Ogunquit[/td][td]Viratkohli[/td][td]Chidi[/td][td]Coberg[/td][td]Borrdland[/td][td]Tangerine_Bay[/td][td]Whaley[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Kaytr[/td][td]West_Tar[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td][/td][td][/td][td][/td][td][/td][/tr][/table]
[/spoiler]
ENDORSE KORONIC
If you've been mentioned in this post, you are in the World Assembly, but are not endorsing the WA Delegate Koronic.
Please endorse Koronic to help regional security.
Everyone who endorses Koronic will be granted membership in the Order of Astraea and knighthood:
https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1902529
Astoreus
Post self-deleted by Great Eurasian Unions.
I regret to inform everyone that one of Astoria's cherished friends and allies, Ijaka, has permanently closed its borders and will cease operations indefinitely.
Sail on, Ijaka 🩵
Grishahakkaverchynot, Rock Pumice, New Shadow Imperium, Adriatic Democratic Empire, Colonio, Shion Sonozaki State
Sail on o7
Rosartemis
sail on o7
o7, Ijaka. Even though you might not set sail for the rest of NS's career, you'll sail on in out hearts, and in our minds. We shall miss you, Ijaka.
Rock Pumice
Sail On
Rock Pumice
for todays random Wikipedia article of the day, we have...
Impossible colors are colors that do not appear in ordinary visual functioning. Different color theories suggest different hypothetical colors that humans are incapable of perceiving for one reason or another, and fictional colors are routinely created in popular culture. While some such colors have no basis in reality, phenomena such as cone cell fatigue enable colors to be perceived in certain circumstances that would not be otherwise.
Opponent process
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Main article: Opponent process
The color opponent process is a color theory that states that the human visual system interprets information about color by processing signals from cone and rod cells in an antagonistic manner. The three types of cone cells have some overlap in the wavelengths of light to which they respond, so it is more efficient for the visual system to record differences between the responses of cones, rather than each type of cone's individual response. The opponent color theory suggests that there are three opponent channels:
Red versus green
Blue versus yellow
Black versus white (this is achromatic and detects light–dark variation or luminance)
Responses to one color of an opponent channel are antagonistic to those to the other color, and signals output from a place on the retina can contain one or the other but not both, for each opponent pair.
Imaginary colors
The CIE 1931 color space chromaticity diagram. The white regions outside the black line correspond to imaginary colors. (The colors in this figure do not reproduce the actual colors in the diagram, due to the limitations of RGB computer displays.)
The ProPhoto RGB color space uses fictitious green and blue primaries to obtain a broader gamut (space inside the triangle) than would be possible with three realistic primaries. However, some realistic colors still cannot be rendered using the colorants that are available.
A fictitious color or imaginary color is a point in a color space that corresponds to combinations of cone cell responses in one eye that cannot be produced by the eye in normal circumstances seeing any possible light spectrum.[1] No physical object can have an imaginary color.
The spectral sensitivity curve of medium-wavelength ("M") cone cells overlaps those of short-wavelength ("S") and long-wavelength ("L") cone cells. Light of any wavelength that interacts with M cones also interacts with S or L cones, or both, to some extent. Therefore, no wavelength and no spectral power distribution excites only one sort of cone. If, for example, M cones could be excited alone, this would make the brain see an imaginary color greener than any physically possible green. Such a "hyper-green" color would be in the CIE 1931 color space chromaticity diagram in the blank area above the colored area and between the y-axis and the line x+y=1.
Imaginary colors in color spaces
Further information: Color space
Although they cannot be seen, imaginary colors are often found in the mathematical descriptions that define color spaces.[2]
Any additive mixture of two real colors is also a real color. When colors are displayed in the CIE 1931 XYZ color space, additive mixture results in color along the line between the colors being mixed. By mixing any three colors, one can therefore create any color contained in the triangle they describe—this is called the gamut formed by those three colors, which are called primary colors. Any colors outside of this triangle cannot be obtained by mixing the chosen primaries.
When defining primaries, the goal is often to leave as many real colors in gamut as possible. Since the region of real colors is not a triangle (see illustration), it is not possible to pick three real colors that span the whole region. The gamut can be increased by selecting more than three real primary colors, but since the region of real colors is bounded by a smooth curve, there will always be some colors near its edges that are left out. For this reason, primary colors are often chosen that are outside of the region of real colors—that is, imaginary or fictitious primary colors—in order to capture the greatest area of real colors.
In computer and television screen color displays, the corners of the gamut triangle are defined by commercially available phosphors chosen to be as near as possible to pure red, green, and blue, within the area of real colors. Because of this, these displays inevitably exhibit colors nearest to real colors lying within its gamut triangle, rather than exact matches to real colors that plot outside of it. The specific gamuts available to commercial display devices vary by manufacturer and model and are often defined as part of international standards—for example, the gamut of chromaticities defined by sRGB color space was developed into a standard (IEC 61966-2-1:1999 [3]) by the International Electrotechnical Commission.
Chimerical colors
By staring at a "fatigue template" for 20–60 seconds, then switching to a neutral target, it is possible to view "impossible" colors.
A chimerical color is an imaginary color that can be seen temporarily by looking steadily at a strong color until some of the cone cells become fatigued, temporarily changing their color sensitivities, and then looking at a markedly different color. The direct trichromatic description of vision cannot explain these colors, which can involve saturation signals outside the physical gamut imposed by the trichromatic model. Opponent process color theories, which treat intensity and chroma as separate visual signals, provide a biophysical explanation of these chimerical colors.[4] For example, staring at a saturated primary-color field and then looking at a white object results in an opposing shift in hue, causing an afterimage of the complementary color. Exploration of the color space outside the range of "real colors" by this means is major corroborating evidence for the opponent-process theory of color vision. Chimerical colors can be seen while seeing with one eye or with both eyes, and are not observed to reproduce simultaneously qualities of opposing colors (e.g. "yellowish blue").[4] Chimerical colors include:
Stygian colors: these are simultaneously dark and impossibly saturated. For example, to see "stygian blue": staring at bright yellow causes a dark blue afterimage, then on looking at black, the blue is seen as blue against the black, also as dark as the black. The color is not possible to achieve through normal vision, because the lack of incident light (in the black) prevents saturation of the blue/yellow chromatic signal (the blue appearance).
Self-luminous colors: these mimic the effect of glowing material, even when viewed on a medium such as paper, which can only reflect and not emit its own light. For example, to see "self-luminous red": staring at green causes a red afterimage, then on looking at white, the red is seen against the white and may seem to be brighter than the white.
Hyperbolic colors: these are impossibly highly saturated. For example, to see "hyperbolic orange": staring at bright cyan causes an orange afterimage, then on looking at orange, the resulting orange afterimage seen against the orange background may cause an orange color purer than the purest orange color that can be made by any normally-seen light.
Colors outside physical color space
Some people may be able to see the color "yellow–blue" in this image by letting their eyes cross so that both + symbols are on top of each other. In this image, both RGB and Natural Color System color pairs are provided. It may be necessary to zoom to adjust the image.
Some people may be able to see the color "red-green" in this image by letting their eyes cross so that both + symbols are on top of each other. In this image, both RGB and Natural Color System color pairs are provided. It may be necessary to zoom to adjust the image.
Most people see very bright colored concentric circles in this pattern, if it is printed and rotated at around 150–300 rpm. Alternate version with inverse contrast yields opposite effect.
According to the opponent-process theory, under normal circumstances, there is no hue that could be described as a mixture of opponent hues; that is, as a hue looking "redgreen" or "yellowblue".
In 1983, Hewitt D. Crane and Thomas P. Piantanida performed tests using an eye-tracker device that had a field of a vertical red stripe adjacent to a vertical green stripe, or several narrow alternating red and green stripes (or in some cases, yellow and blue instead). The device could track involuntary movements of one eye (there was a patch over the other eye) and adjust mirrors so the image would follow the eye and the boundaries of the stripes were always on the same places on the eye's retina; the field outside the stripes was blanked with occluders. Under such conditions, the edges between the stripes seemed to disappear (perhaps due to edge-detecting neurons becoming fatigued) and the colors flowed into each other in the brain's visual cortex, overriding the opponency mechanisms and producing not the color expected from mixing paints or from mixing lights on a screen, but new colors entirely, which are not in the CIE 1931 color space, either in its real part or in its imaginary parts. For red-and-green, some saw an even field of the new color; some saw a regular pattern of just-visible green dots and red dots; some saw islands of one color on a background of the other color. Some of the volunteers for the experiment reported that afterward, they could still imagine the new colors for a period of time.[5]
Some observers indicated that although they were aware that what they were viewing was a color (that is, the field was not achromatic), they were unable to name or describe the color. One of these observers was an artist with large color vocabulary. Other observers of the novel hues described the first stimulus as a reddish-green.[6]
In 2001, Vincent A. Billock and Gerald A. Gleason and Brian H. Tsou set up an experiment to test a theory that the 1983 experiment did not control for variations in the perceived luminance of the colors from subject to subject: two colors are equiluminant for an observer when rapidly alternating between the colors produces the least impression of flickering. The 2001 experiment was similar but controlled for luminance.[7] They had these observations:
Some subjects (4 out of 7) described transparency phenomena—as though the opponent colors originated in two depth planes and could be seen, one through the other. ...
We found that when colors were equiluminant, subjects saw reddish greens, bluish yellows, or a multistable spatial color exchange (an entirely novel perceptual phenomena [sic]); when the colors were nonequiluminant, subjects saw spurious pattern formation.
This led them to propose a "soft-wired model of cortical color opponency", in which populations of neurons compete to fire and in which the "losing" neurons go completely silent. In this model, eliminating competition by, for instance, inhibiting connections between neural populations can allow mutually exclusive neurons to fire together.[7]
Hsieh and Tse in 2006 disputed the existence of colors forbidden by opponency theory and claimed they are, in reality, intermediate colors. However, by their own account their methods differed from Crane and Piantanida: "They stabilized the border between two colors on the retina using an eye tracker linked to deflector mirrors, whereas we relied on visual fixation." Hsieh and Tse do not compare their methods to Billock and Tsou, and do not cite their work, even though it was published five years earlier in 2001.[8] See also binocular rivalry.
In fiction
Some works of fiction have mentioned fictional colors outside of the normal human visual spectrum that have not been observed yet, and whose observation may require advanced technology, different physics, or magic.[9][10][11] Introduction of a new color is often an allegory intending to deliver additional information to the reader.[12] Such colors are primarily discussed in literary works, as they are currently impossible to visualize (when a new color is shown in the episode "Reincarnation" of the animated show Futurama, the animation for that segment of the show is purposely kept in shades of gray[13]).
One of the earliest examples of fictional colors comes from the Ambrose Bierce 1893 horror short story The Damned Thing, wherein the titular monster is theorized to have been a color beyond human senses, rendering the monster itself invisible. Popular examples also include the 1920 science fiction novel A Voyage to Arcturus, by David Lindsay, which mentions two new primary colors, "ulfire" and "jale".[9] The Colour Out of Space, a 1927 story by H.P. Lovecraft, is named after an otherwise unnamed color, usually not observable by humans, generated by alien entities.[10] Philip K. Dick's 1969 novel Galactic Pot-Healer mentions a color "rej", Terry Pratchett in his Discworld series that began with The Colour of Magic (1983) describes "octarine", a color that can be seen only by magicians and cats; and Marion Zimmer Bradley in her novel The Colors of Space (1963) mentions "the eighth color" made visible during the FTL travel.[9][11] Brazilian writer Ziraldo's 1969 children's book Flicts tells the story of a color of the same name (represented as an earthy shade of beige) that is segregated by the other colors found in the rainbow, flags and elsewhere, because Flicts is rare, seen as uncharacteristic, and therefore undervalued; at the end of the book, Flicts finds its place as the color of the moon (after being gifted an English copy of the book, Neil Armstrong signed it and wrote "The moon is flicts"[citation needed]). "Pleurigloss" is the favorite color of the immortal afterlife being Michael from the television show The Good Place. In the show, pleurigloss is described as "the color of when a soldier comes home from war and sees his dog for the first time."[14] Vernor Vinge's science fiction novel A Deepness in the Sky includes a species who can see a color whose name is translated as "plaid" (including a reference to "alpha plaid").[15] In Fallen London, Sunless Sea, and Sunless Skies, which take place in a shared universe created by Failbetter Games, there exist seven colors as part of a "Neathbow" that cannot be viewed in plain sunlight, are counterparts to regular colors, and have fantastical properties, such as irrigo and violant, which remove and reinforce memories, respectively.[citation needed]
Please spoiler this. I will ask for it to be suppressed.
Edoardienne
Good morning.
Shion Sonozaki State
Morning
Shion Sonozaki State
[spoiler=New Arrivals]Rosartemis Land_Chiple Old_Habits_Die_Hard Weirdalnia [/spoiler]
Welcome to the Celestial Order of Astoria!
Click on the button below to get some information on how to get started in our region:
[spoiler=HOW TO GET STARTED]
[list][*]First of all you should read our guide (if you haven't) because it contains all the essential info about our region and will be a lot of help to you!
[*]We encourage you to endorse our delegate Koronic!
Not only this helps making the region more powerful and secure, it will also grant you membership in the knightly Order of Astraea!
[*]You should join our regional forum at astorians.boards.net and apply for citizenship which will allow you to legislate, vote, run in elections and even get a position in our government!
[*]If you are interested in worldbuilding and developing your nation, you should definitely join our roleplay and claim land on our map!
[*]We also highly encourage you to join the Astorian Radiant Cavalry and go on raids with your region mates!
[*]Finally we invite you join our Discord server to better engage with our community. Here's the link: https://discord.gg/DZkKXwCkUX[/list]
If you still have questions, do not hesitate to contact the Archkeeper of the Celestium through telegram!
[/spoiler]
This is an automated message.
what why? well, Sail on my friendsÂ
Post self-deleted by Varsemia.
[table][tr][td]Question of the Day[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]What is your least favorite fruit?[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]What fruit is your least favorite?[/td][/tr]
[tr][td][spoiler=TOTA Answer :3]I do not like pineapple. I hate it. It is revolting. [/spoiler][/td][/tr]
[/table]
Adriatic Democratic Empire, Catgirlboss
I don't dislike any fruit that much honestly
🥝 I dislike kiwi
Woopera
The teddy bear in Issue "Bringing a Bayonet to a Gunfight" got beaten up.
Especially on pizza
I would argue this point, but I don't have it in me for another round of that right now :p
Coastal States
Lemons. I once took a bite out of one for the funny, never again.
will do that in the future
Coastal States
As a general rule, it's a good rule of thumb for whenever you have a long post.
Coastal States
Hey how're you doing
Post self-deleted by Edoardienne.
Each dixie boy must understand he must mind his uncle sam🇺🇸
[spoiler=New Arrivals]Colonio Kyparis [/spoiler]
Welcome to the Celestial Order of Astoria!
Click on the button below to get some information on how to get started in our region:
[spoiler=HOW TO GET STARTED]
[list][*]First of all you should read our guide (if you haven't) because it contains all the essential info about our region and will be a lot of help to you!
[*]We encourage you to endorse our delegate Koronic!
Not only this helps making the region more powerful and secure, it will also grant you membership in the knightly Order of Astraea!
[*]You should join our regional forum at astorians.boards.net and apply for citizenship which will allow you to legislate, vote, run in elections and even get a position in our government!
[*]If you are interested in worldbuilding and developing your nation, you should definitely join our roleplay and claim land on our map!
[*]We also highly encourage you to join the Astorian Radiant Cavalry and go on raids with your region mates!
[*]Finally we invite you join our Discord server to better engage with our community. Here's the link: https://discord.gg/DZkKXwCkUX[/list]
If you still have questions, do not hesitate to contact the Archkeeper of the Celestium through telegram!
[/spoiler]
This is an automated message.
Colonio
Alright, how about yourself?
Colonio
Me when my nations CTE again
Unike did anything interesting happen on the discord, dont have my phone on me and need 2fa :p
Colonio
In italy we started Easter holiday
Post self-deleted by Catgirlboss.
Rosa and I are both back
Colonio
You know probably one of My friend will join
Catgirlboss, Colonio
Nahuatistan has seen what we have said and has not spoilered it, I would like to request for you to get it suppressed.
Astoreus deleted the server 'becuase why not'
I was crowned Astra Deus of Astoria
Colonio
Not gonna lie I don't remember that happening :p
Hello everyone of astoria! I have the nation of roklestan i would love to know everyone!
Thal Dorthat, The Catgirl3, Rosartemis, The United Ariabics, Byzantine Union Of Confederate States, Fancadium
Assembled with Dot's Region Saver.
Written by Refuge Isle.