amber (colour)

English translation: yellow to orangey-brown colour range & traditional in UV-protection bottles

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:amber (colour)
Selected answer:yellow to orangey-brown colour range & traditional in UV-protection bottles
Entered by: Yvonne Gallagher

18:16 Dec 31, 2018
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Other
English term or phrase: amber (colour)
"The color amber is a pure chroma color, located on the color wheel midway between the colors of yellow and orange".

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amber_(color)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amber_(color)

Everything is very clear and simple.

But here we see "Amber UV Protection Bags", and they are definetely brown (even deep brown), not "midway between the colors of yellow and orange":

https://www.performancepkg.biz/Amber-UV-Protection-Bags-/sku...

http://www.interplas.com/reclosable-bags/3-mil-minigrip-uv-g...

and so on.

When under UV radiation, amber has a peculiar fluorescence.

Is it possible that amber as material was used for UV protection before, so now materials for UV protection can be called "amber", even though they are not yellow? In this case by saying "Amber UV Protection Bags" one desires to say "bags made of a film which provides such a protection against UV radiation which is comparable with that provided by amber".

Or there is some other reason for using the word "amber" here?

Thank you in advance!
Landsknecht
Ukraine
Local time: 20:44
amber is traditional colour and sounds much nicer than brown
Explanation:
Apothecary amber bottles have been used for a long time to protect medicines etc. safer from UV light. I believe iron ore was added to the glass. Now plastic or bags do the same thing but the colour amber has been kept because it sounds nicer and is the traditional colour used.

So, the bags might or might not look more like a true amber colour (not yellow but more a blend of orangey brown with flecks of a deeper brown, easier to see in a glass bottle) either under UV radiation light but not necessarily.
The main thing is that "brown bag" is not good marketing speak at all

http://bomar.ie/product-category/bottles-jars-closures/glass...

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Note added at 1 hr (2018-12-31 19:21:01 GMT)
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http://sevaniskin.com/blog/2011/05/03/ever-wonder-why-amber-...
https://www.mjspackaging.com/blog/3-reasons-for-amber-glass-...

and for other bags
https://www.fourstarplastics.com/plastic-bags/Reclosable-Zip...

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Note added at 1 hr (2018-12-31 19:23:39 GMT)
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http://www.gpi.org/learn-about-glass/what-glass/glass-colori...

"Amber is the most common colored glass, and is produced by adding together iron, sulfur, and carbon."

but this won't necessarily be the case for the bags!

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Note added at 4 days (2019-01-05 13:06:27 GMT) Post-grading
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Glad to have helped
Selected response from:

Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 18:44
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +1amber is traditional colour and sounds much nicer than brown
Yvonne Gallagher
3 +1amber is orange-red but generally translucent
British Diana
3Can be used synonymous with brown colour
acetran


Discussion entries: 4





  

Answers


3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
Can be used synonymous with brown colour


Explanation:
The Wikipedia link says: "The color name is derived from the material also known as amber, which is commonly found in a range of yellow-orange-brown-red colors;"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amber_(color)

Which means, iit can also be used synonymous with Brown colour. In sales and marketing, this often happens--Surf refers to washing powder and Xerox copy refers to photocopy.

If you see the link below, a bullet point says: Amber color makes it easier to notice. So, I feel Amber is being used synonymously with brown. It started with the material Amber, and the name stuck [although, strictly speaking, Aber colour may not be brown in the eyes of an artist; but sales and marketing is a different field altogether]

https://www.fourstarplastics.com/plastic-bags/Reclosable-Zip...

acetran
Native speaker of: Native in HindiHindi, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8
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2 days 15 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
amber is orange-red but generally translucent


Explanation:

I associate the colour "amber"with translucency, which is possibly the reason why the middle lamp of a British traffic light is always called "amber" and not "orange". The resin "amber" found on beaches and used in jewellry is also translucent.


    Reference: http://https://www.quora.com/Why-do-yellow-traffic-lights-ap...
British Diana
Germany
Local time: 19:44
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tina Vonhof (X)
6 hrs
  -> Thanks, Tina!

neutral  Yvonne Gallagher: Amber may be opaque also and comes in a range of colours. What is relevancy of traffic lights, esp. when these are yellow/orange elsewhere? https://www.gemsociety.org/article/amber-jewelry-and-gemston...
1 day 4 hrs
  -> I agree with your source that amber can have "a wide range of transparency". My point is that the translucent "yellow" traffic light is referred to as "amber", because it reminds one of the transparent kind of amber.
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
amber is traditional colour and sounds much nicer than brown


Explanation:
Apothecary amber bottles have been used for a long time to protect medicines etc. safer from UV light. I believe iron ore was added to the glass. Now plastic or bags do the same thing but the colour amber has been kept because it sounds nicer and is the traditional colour used.

So, the bags might or might not look more like a true amber colour (not yellow but more a blend of orangey brown with flecks of a deeper brown, easier to see in a glass bottle) either under UV radiation light but not necessarily.
The main thing is that "brown bag" is not good marketing speak at all

http://bomar.ie/product-category/bottles-jars-closures/glass...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2018-12-31 19:21:01 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

http://sevaniskin.com/blog/2011/05/03/ever-wonder-why-amber-...
https://www.mjspackaging.com/blog/3-reasons-for-amber-glass-...

and for other bags
https://www.fourstarplastics.com/plastic-bags/Reclosable-Zip...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2018-12-31 19:23:39 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

http://www.gpi.org/learn-about-glass/what-glass/glass-colori...

"Amber is the most common colored glass, and is produced by adding together iron, sulfur, and carbon."

but this won't necessarily be the case for the bags!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 days (2019-01-05 13:06:27 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Glad to have helped

Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 18:44
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 129

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  JohnMcDove: Strongly agree. Happy New Year! :-)
4 hrs
  -> Many thanks John:-) And all the best for 2019!

neutral  B D Finch: Yes and no. I think that those "brown" bags would probably look "amber" with a strong light shining through them. Best wishes for 2019.
15 hrs
  -> I did say that too! "...the bags might or might not look more like a true amber colour (...easier to see in a glass bottle) under UV radiation light" Anyway, that wasn't the only question. Happy New Year!
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