Purple is an interesting color that often sparks debate. While many people think of purple as a common color, like red, blue, or green, others categorize it differently as a neon color. So is purple actually a neon color? Let’s take a closer look.
Defining Neon Colors
Neon colors refer to a group of artificial colors that appear exceptionally bright and vivid. The name comes from neon lighting, which produces an especially brilliant glow. While neon lights can come in different hues, there are a few signature neon colors:
| Neon red | Neon orange |
| Neon yellow | Neon green |
These colors are unnaturally saturated versions of regular chromatic hues. They stand out as abnormally intense and radiant. In nature, colors are usually more muted and greyed out. Neon colors like you’d see on a neon sign tend to look artificial.
In addition to appearing vividly oversaturated, neon colors also seem to give off their own glow. This self-illuminating quality helps neon colors pop from their surroundings. They attract attention and draw the eye.
Is Purple a Neon Color?
Given the typical qualities of neon colors, purple does not automatically qualify as a neon color. Natural purple shades found in nature, like lavender flowers or grape skins, are not bright enough to be considered neon purple. However, vivid purples that appear in an artificially saturated way could potentially count as neon shades.
Electric or hot purple hues that areramped up in saturation definitely take on a glowing neon appearance. When purple is configured with the right hue and brightness, it can take on that unnaturally intense neon vibe.
Some specific shades of purple that could be classified as neon purple include:
- Electric purple
- Luminous vivid purple
- Psychedelic purple
- Ultraviolet purple
These types of purples contain high amounts of blue and magenta pigments. They appear with the supersaturated, self-illuminating quality of neon colors. When configured correctly, purple can certainly join the ranks of neon reds, oranges, greens and other glowing neon rainbow hues.
Historical Use of Neon Purple
While purple has not always been linked with neon colors, there is some history of certain vibrant purples taking on a neon appearance. Let’s look at some of the key uses of neon purple shades historically:
1960s Psychedelic Culture
With the rise of psychedelic drug culture in the 1960s, vivid neon-like purples became popular. Psychedelic rock posters, murals, fashion and more utilized these trippy neon purples. Black lights also emitted an intense, glowing purple that became iconic in psychedelic venues.
70s and 80s Neon Pop Art
In the 1970s and 1980s, neon popped up across visual art and design. Neon purple showed up alongside other glowing neon colors in pop art, graphic design, fashion and advertising. This helped cement vivid purple as a neon shade.
90s Neon Retro Revival
When neon lighting and colors resurged in popularity in the 1990s, neon purple was very much included. Blacklight posters, club culture, and eclectic 90s fashion revived glowing neon purple shades.
Using Neon Purple in Design
In graphic design and marketing, neon purple can make a big impact:
- Attention-grabbing accent color
- Vibrant background color
- Visual highlight color
- Part of neon color schemes
Because neon purple pops so boldly, it’s best used sparingly unless purposely trying to achieve a very radical effect. Using neon purple to its full advantage requires strategically balancing it with more neutral colors like white, black, grey or tan. This helps the neon purple really stand out.
Neon Purple in Nature
While neon purple appears artificially in design and technology, there are a few rare instances of it occurring naturally too. These include:
Amethyst Geodes
Inside these sparkling purple geodes, vibrant neon purple crystals naturally form. The intense, saturated color mimics the glowing essence of synthetic neon purple.
Violet Sabrewing Hummingbird
This tropical hummingbird has feathers in a striking neon purple and blue iridescence that almost appears to glow. It’s one of the only animals to naturally sport neon-like coloring.
Glowing Plankton
While more blue tinged, certain bioluminescent plankton found in oceans can emit a brilliant glowing purple hue reminiscent of neon.
Vibrant Purple Sunrises and Sunsets
During vivid purple sunrises or sunsets, the colors sometimes appear intensely saturated like neon purple momentarily. This occurs when conditions are just right.
So while rare, nature can produce small glimpses of what looks like neon purple light naturally. But the human-made neon purple shades tend to be more consistently vivid.
How Neon Purple is Produced
While natural light can occasionally mimic it, true neon purple is created artificially using specialized neon tubes that emit an intense glow:
Glass Tubing
Neon lighting consists of specialized glass tubing containing various noble gases. Different gases and phosphors produce different colored hues.
Argon and Neon Gas
For purple, argon and neon gas gets sealed inside glass tubes. Metallic phosphors are also added.
Plasma Electrification
When the tubes connect to an electric power source, electrodes at the ends heat up. This excites the atoms, ionizing the gases into brightly glowing plasma.
Visible Light Emission
The phosphors then emit specific wavelengths of visible light. For purple, the blend of argon, neon and phosphors produces that vivid glowing result.
So neon purple relies on this complex technological process. The tubes require specialized manufacturing to achieve that signature brightness and color saturation.
Neon Purple vs. Ultraviolet
Neon purple tones have similarities to ultraviolet light but also key differences:
- Ultraviolet – Invisible light beyond the visible violet end of the spectrum. Same vibrating frequency as neon purple, but human eyes can’t see it.
- Neon Purple – Visible light. Artificially saturated purple that appears exceptionally vivid, bright and glowy.
While neon purple evokes ultraviolet with its vibrancy, it remains visible light within the readable color spectrum. Ultraviolet denotes electromagnetic waves humans can’t see unaided.
Is Neon Purple Toxic?
Glowing neon purple may appear slightly radioactive, but it’s not actually toxic or hazardous. The noble gases used – neon and argon – are both inert and do not react. The glass tubing also safely contains the plasma inside. So while eye-catching, standard neon purple lighting is designed to be safe for human eyes and skin. However, issues could arise if the tubes break and leak.
Conclusion
In summary, while ordinary purple is not inherently a neon color, vivid shades of purple designed to appear supersaturated and glowing can qualify as neon varieties. When strategically produced with the right blend of gases, phosphors and electric current, purple can take on that signature neon essence. So whether occurring naturally through unusual conditions or artificially created with neon technology, purple can earn membership in the neon color club.