Think of your favorite color and if you’re like most people around the world, there’s a good chance it’s some shade of blue. The vast blue sky and the many blue clothes out there may trick you into thinking this color is common in the natural world but, think again. When was the last time you glimpsed a blue petal, insect or bird? They’re out there, but not many.
Blue is one of the rarest of colors in nature. Even the few animals and plants that appear blue don’t actually contain the color. These vibrant blue organisms have developed some unique features that use the physics of light.
Waves and cones
First, here’s a reminder of why we see blue or any other color.
All light is a form of electromagnetic energy, waves that can travel through a vacuum. The waves fall on a spectrum, with some having longer or shorter wavelengths. X-rays, microwaves and radio waves are all part of the spectrum, each with their own wavelength. There’s only one sliver of the spectrum that we can see, and that’s the visible light spectrum.
Zoom into the light energy and here each color also has its own wavelength. Reds and yellows have relatively long wavelengths, blues and violets have the shortest.
The color we see is the wavelength that reflects most from that object. Take a yellow sunflower, for example. It absorbs the blue, red and other color energy waves then reflects back wavelengths that appear yellow. The color receptors in our eyes then translate the flower’s wavelength into its color and send that to our brain.
Ok, back to blue.
Blue is a tough color to spot in nature because there is no naturally occurring blue compound to color things blue. This is why blue rocks and minerals are so rare and why it was so pricey back when the Egyptians began mining the vibrant blue lapis lazuli mineral thousands of years ago.
Plants are green because of the compound chlorophyll, which has a green pigment. The bright orange of carrots stems from its carotene compounds. And these pigments can go up the food chain. If you were to eat a lot – a whole lot – of carrots, your skin could take on an orange tinge.
Some animals actually rely upon their dinner for their colors. Flamingoes are born with grey feathers, for example, that gradually shift into colorful pinks from the compounds in their meals. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/for-some-species-you-really-are-what-you-eat-40747423/
But there are shiny blue butterflies, peaco*cks, berries and a few other animals with rich blue hues. There’s even a bright blue tarantula. Perhaps you are thinking blueberries are everywhere and they are quite common. They are technically deep purple, not blue, and their color comes from the purple anthocyanin compound.
Blue Taruntula aka Poecilotheria_metallica
the Blue Morpho butterfly
So how do the true blue plants, animals, and minerals get their color if there is no actual blue compound? It’s all in how these organisms are built (the external structure and for now, extend that meaning of external structure to what you can visibly see of rocks and minerals) and how light bounces off these structures – it’s actually called structural color. Light hits special structures on the cell, wing or other part of an organism that cause the wavelengths to bounce a certain way – in the very short wavelength way that results in the color blue. There are several ways this can happen and scientists are studying these blue plants and animals to understand it… https://www.gotscience.org/2016/11/nature-uses-physics-create-color-blue/
Perhaps that is why blue is so popular in the people world, because it is so rare in nature. But researchers have found ways to develop the color synthetically. So next time you put on your favorite blue jeans or Julianna Rae pajamas, you’ll have even more to appreciate!
Let us know what colors make you sing and if there are other colors you would like us to research!
FAQs
But when it comes to nature, blue is very rare. Less than 1 in 10 plants have blue flowers and far fewer animals are blue. So why is that? Part of the reason is that there isn't really a true blue colour or pigment in nature and both plants and animals have to perform tricks of the light to appear blue.
What is blue scientifically? ›
blue, in physics, light in the wavelength range of 450–495 nanometres in the visible spectrum. After violet, blue is the spectral region with the shortest wavelengths discernible to the human eye.
What is the color theory about blue? ›
Blue calls to mind feelings of calmness and relaxation. 3 It is often described as peaceful, tranquil, secure, and orderly. Blue is seen as a sign of stability and reliability.
What is the rarest blue ever? ›
The Rarest Blue tells the incredible story of tekhelet, the elusive sky-blue color mentioned throughout the Bible. Minoans discovered it; Phoenicians stole it; Roman emperors revered it; and Jews — obeying a commandment to affix a thread of it to their garments — risked their lives for it.
What is the most forgotten color? ›
Quercitron yellow takes the crown as the most forgotten color. This is partly due to its two confusing names—what we now know as quercitron yellow used to be known simply as quercitron or more commonly as “Dutch Pink.” Umm, what?
What is blue theory? ›
Blue Mind is the mildly meditative state people fall into when they are near, in, under or on water. Water positively affects the mind and body, and the Blue Mind Theory provides ways people can use water to improve their well-being. Blue Mind is the term used to describe the state of water-associated peace.
What is the rarest favorite color? ›
It may come as a surprise that a pretty color like purple is the rarest favorite color on a global scale. Though extremely popular with children, and in the US, this color is one of the least popular around the world.
What two colors make blue? ›
True blue is a primary and cannot be made by mixing any other colors together. However, a shade, tint or color leaning from primary blue can be made by mixing black, white or another color to it.
What is the No 1 color in the world? ›
BLUE. Blue is the most loved color by humans being preferred by more than 35% of world's population which basically means that every 4 people in a group of ten favor blue over any other color which is kinda surprising because blue also happens to be the rarest occurring natural color.
What is the 1st color in the world? ›
Researchers discovered the ancient pink pigments in 1.1-billion-year-old rocks deep beneath the Sahara Desert in the Taoudeni Basin of Mauritania, West Africa, making them the oldest colors in the geological record.
Of those four, green is the rarest. It shows up in about 9% of Americans but only 2% of the world's population. Hazel/amber is the next rarest color after green. Blue is the second most common and brown tops the list, found in 45% of the U.S. population and possibly almost 80% worldwide.
Is blue a real color in nature? ›
Blue is one of the rarest of colors in nature. Even the few animals and plants that appear blue don't actually contain the color. These vibrant blue organisms have developed some unique features that use the physics of light.
How does the color blue affect the brain? ›
Blue: calmness, serenity, peace
Primary blue is used in therapeutic settings for meditation and relaxation because it helps you unwind, find peace, and become more comfortable expressing your inner feelings. It's also associated with wisdom, creativity, and spirituality.
What is the metaphysics of the color blue? ›
The color blue represents both the sky and the sea and is associated with open spaces, freedom, intuition, imagination, inspiration, and sensitivity. Blue also represents meanings of depth, trust, loyalty, sincerity, wisdom, confidence, stability, faith, and intelligence.
Is purple rarer than blue in nature? ›
Still, in a discussion of colors that can be viewed by humans, purple remains the rarest. The combination of its composite colors, namely red and blue, is the reason why purple is so rare. The main mechanism for this is due to how blue and red light are perceived in nature.
