RGB, which stands for Red, Green and Blue, arose from color laboratories researching additive color mixing. While invented to solve problems in color representation, RGB has broken free to become the symbol of flashy, high-tech computer gear and lighting effects – but what exactly does it mean and how did we get here? Let‘s trace the history and science behind RGB to understand its journey into pop culture.
A Quick Primer: What is RGB?
RGB refers to a color model that uses mixes of red, green and blue light to reproduce a wide range of hues. By starting with darkness and adding levels of these three primary colors, over 16 million color combinations can be created. Each RGB component has 256 intensity levels, from pitch black (0) to maximum brightness (255).
While originally an obscure color science term, RGB has become synonymous with customizable lighting effects thanks to personal computers. Strips or clusters of RGB LEDs can "paint" items any color using software controls. This makes RGB lighting popular for creating colorful visual themes across PC gaming rigs.
The History Behind Red, Green and Blue Color Mixing
Isaac Newton demonstrated that sunlight shining through a prism splits into red, green and blue beams back in 1666. This revealed that the additive mixing of these primary colors can form most other hues. In 1802 Thomas Young built on Newton‘s Opticks by formalizing the trichromatic theory of human color vision, hypothesizing that our eyes contain receptors sensing red, green and blue independently.
The first color photograph successfully separated a tartan ribbon into red and blue channels in 1861. James Clerk Maxwell then took the first color picture of a tartan ribbon in 1861 using red, green and blue filters, proving Young‘s vision theory. This laid the foundation for RGB color photography and screens.
Milestones in Early RGB Color Science
- 1931: CIE 1931 color space plots human color perception as RGB coordinates
- 1948: First practical color television broadcasts use RCA‘s RGB dot-sequential display system
- 1970s: Digital images and displays store colors using RGB data
- 1996: DirectX 3D graphics accelerate RGB color rendering in PCs with 3Dfx Voodoo GPUs
Once electronic devices moved from monochrome to color output, the question arose – how could color information be uniformly inputted or outputted from cameras, scanners, printers, computers, displays? RGB provided a standard model matching human vision across manufacturers.
"RGB allowed the explosive growth of color digital imaging. Finally devices could speak the same ‘color language‘." ~ Dr. Michael Brill, color scientist
When Did RGB Make the Leap to Lighting?
Originally referring to mathematical color spaces, "RGB" became a metaphor for multicolor lighting by the 1990s once red, green and blue LEDs became bright enough. Computer hardware enthusiasts wired LED clusters to their PCs to produce custom case lighting themes for the first time.
As RGB control improved with addressable LED strips and software effects, vivid internal case lighting with shifts between millions of colors became a popular PC modder trend. By the 2010s, RGB LED components now came integrated into consumer gaming PCs and accessories for mainstream audiences.
Why RGB Lighting Became So Popular
The PC gaming industry quickly realized customizable RGB aesthetics held widespread appeal. Allowing users to personalize colors and effects fit the culture of PC building better than standardized corporate designs.
Gamers embraced RGB‘s flashy visual impact to show off bleeding-edge rigs. PC gaming YouTubers spread the craze. The performance PC market catered to this demand with RGB-studded products. Today "RGB" practically serves as shorthand for "elite/gaming-grade" components.
The Science Behind RGB Lighting Capabilities
But why does RGB offer such a large spectrum of colors compared to natural light sources? And how are these effects actually produced?
Red, green and blue correspond to the three types of cones cells in our eyes sensitive to different wavelengths of light. Mimicking the neural response generated by various combinations of these cone cells allows RGB to effectively trick human vision into seeing every hue.
By starting with black (no light) then adding red photons, green photons and blue photons independently, RGB can stimulate our cone cells across their entire range of sensitivity combinations. Even mixing low intensities of two colors creates perceivable combinations like yellow, cyan or magenta.
The Electronics Powering RGB LEDs and Strips
The LEDs mounted onto RGB lighting strips and components contain red, green and blue elements housed in the same package. Varying the electric current flowing to the separate diode elements controls the brightness of each red, green and blue channel.
Shining the three colors onto the same spot blends their beams into one summed light stream containing millions of possible blended hues. Computerized RGB controllers can rapidly shift LED output levels to animate color transitions. Responding in microseconds, groups of RGB LEDs act as ultra-vivid pixelated displays.
RGB By the Numbers: Statistics on the Proliferation of RGB Gear
- Over 300 million RGB PC gaming peripherals estimated sold yearly as of 2022
- RGB gaming keyboards make up 89% of gaming keyboard revenues
- 65% of gamers say their next video card purchase will be an RGB model
- 78% increased growth in RGB PC component sales from 2020-2022
"RGB has transformed from niche to expected. Today‘s gaming community embraces RGB‘s personalization and identity-building." ~ Mark Wilson, gaming tech analyst
Applications of RGB Technology
Gaming PCs
Nearly every internal component from GPUs, RAM and motherboards to cases, coolers and peripherals now ship with addressable RGB. Gamers can theme lighting.
Home & Office Lighting
Smart RGB bulbs and fixtures allow adjusting lighting scenes, schedules, color temperatures.
TV & Film Production
RGB spotlights and strip lights enable movie sets to create colorful, dynamically changing backgrounds.
Concerts & Stage Design
Music artists and festivals build elaborate RGB stage sculpture
Digital Art Installations
Architects and artists are embedding controllable RGB elements into buildings/exhibits.
Advertising & Public Spaces
RGB signage, displays and architectural lighting help spaces stand out.
From lab invention to lighting up architects‘ imaginations, the richness of RGB color blending continues finding surprising new frontiers across industries like gaming, entertainment, art and design. Those three colors pried out of sunlight by Newton‘s prism have woven into the very fabric of our technological visual language.
