Additive color system
From The Glossary of Digital Photography
A color system made up of the three primary colors: red, green, and blue (RGB). Adding two adjacent primary colors to each primary color produces the secondary colors: cyan, magenta, and yellow. Cyan is created by adding green and blue. Red and blue combine to create magenta. Finally, red plus green creates yellow. Adding together equal amounts of 100% intensity of all three primary colors produces white. Varying the amounts of each primary color added can produce a wide range, or gamut, of colors. The additive color system is used by devices that transmit light, such as monitors and televisions, and is based on how human vision operates. The other color system in use is the subtractive color system. The difference between additive and subtractive color is that additive color uses light and subtractive color uses dyes or pigments. See also subtractive color system; RGB
