Re: Is Clear a Color?

Robbie,

The only relation that "clear" and "color" have in common is light 
(electromagnetic waves).  Clear is the absence of optical density or 
opacity, which refers to the amount of light that is slowed down or 
absorbed by a substance or material.  So something that is clear has zero 
opacity or optical density.  Thus, a clear substance does not absorb or 
perturb light waves in any way.  Color, on the other hand, is an effect 
exhibited by a medium that has some level of optical density, causing the 
light to be partially absorbed (certain wavelengths are absorbed and 
others are transmitted or reflected).  So clear (no interaction with 
light) is in fact the antithesis of color (interaction with light).  By 
these definitions, clear is not a color at all, and is considered 
colorless.