What is the color Of Water?

Question

Today in class i dont know how but me and my freind got in a debate and he said water is clear and i said it was white the question was what was the color of water by definition clear is not a color but white is and i say water is white because in the dictionary white reads as "Having No Color Or pigmitation:
Water has no color making it white.

Answer 1

Water doesn't have a color. It's transparent.

If water were white, it's be translucent. Water isn't a white liquid, because if it were, it'd have the appearance of milk, white-out, etc. You see, colors are red, orange, green, blue, indigo, and violet. White is a combination of all the colors in the color spectrum. Water does not do that. While water distorts light, it does pass through, making it transparent.

Answer 2

Ok. So if there is no color, it doesn't mean it's white. Think of a glass. It's clear, or transparent. It isn't white though. Water is the same thing. It's clear, or transparent, not white. White would be like milk, which proves water isn't white. It doesn't look like milk. So, unfortunately, you're wrong ='(. Your friend was right. It has no color, it's transparent, not white.

Answer 3

Water is evidently sparkling. yet with the aid of a blue sky over it it could refract the blue gentle and look blue. It has a tendency to take on the colour of the sky. although, debris and different issues interior the water may additionally mirror particular gentle spectrums, for this reason some water seems murky green, brown, etc. organic water is obvious, however the stuff floating in it relatively is going to mirror gentle spectrums to make it look colored.

Answer 4

"color" is produced by absorbing and reflecting wavelengths of light. Something that absorbs blue visible light, for example, will reflect red visible light.

The problem with water for the ol' visible-light definition of color is that water absorbs and reflects light wavelengths outside of the visible region, so it does reflect a wavelength, or "color" , but the wavelength of said color is outside of the range that can be detected by human eyes. Hence, water has no "color" that we can see and your friend is correct: water is "colorless" as far as we are concerned.

As far as the dictionary definition you quote, that is intended for visible light only. When something is present that reflects ALL wavelengths of light, then the "color" seen is called white. Water does NOT fit in this category since it does not reflect all visible light; it lets visible light through. Rather than the definition of "white," try the definition of "colorless.":

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/colorless

Now, some semantics.

Part of the useful definition of a word is how it is actually used. There is a single, minor, definition of "white" that says it is a synonym for "transparent," but I think you will agree that while everyone describes water as transparent, no one ever calls water "white" in real life. No one would know why you had done so if you did it, so the definition is a useless one. I think that casually remarking that a white sheet of paper is the same color as water would render the word "white" meaningless in useful terms, wouldn't you agree?

Answer 5

Milk= White
Water= Colourless

There's a difference between this two examples actually. Water is transparent and it does not have any colour to it. However, milk is white in colour since it is not a transparent liquid. Conclusion: Water is COLOURLESS.

Answer 6

You are correct. Maple syrup is "clear," although it is brown. Snow is white, although it is not "clear." The best thing to say is that a liquid is water-white. So concentrated sulfuric is water-white, although it is pretty syrupy, and not like water. Vodka is water-white, although it is 50% alcohol.

Answer 7

In certain forms, water can _appear_ white (ice crystals, vapor, foam), but as an undisturbed liquid, it is clear.

Answer 8

some water is blue some water is is brown some water is clear. but if u ever got splashed with water you would see that in the drops of water it is clear or in other words trasparent.

Answer 9

clear ( having no color) Milk is white

Answer 10

its transparent which is not a colour.it look blue in ocean,lake,etc cause of whats under there