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Gray is a non-chromatic shade anywhere between black and white. Gray is a difficult color to define without some existing notion of what black and white are. Looking at a swatch of gray with no context (such as through a small hole), it's impossible to determine whether it is a highly illuminated black or a dimly lit white.
Middle gray (the shade exactly half way between white and black) is the most neutral of all colors. Not only does it have no chromatic component, but it has a neutral luminosity. For these reasons, it's often used in color calibration. Middle gray also makes an excellent background for displaying images, even more so than black or white, because it allows the photo or painting to be viewed with absolutely no color or brightness bias from the surrounding area. In photography, light is measured against a solid 18% gray swatch prior to photographing so that the light balance will be accurate. Metering a dark color will cause the photo to come out too bright, and metering a light color will make the photo too dark, but a light gray strikes a good balance.
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