Steel blue
Encyclopedia
Steel blue is a shade of blue that resembles blue steel
, i.e., steel which has been subjected to bluing
in order to protect it from rust
. It is one of the less vibrant shades of blue; usually identified as somewhat bluish-grey.
The first recorded use of steel blue as a color name in English
was in 1817.
In 1987, Steel blue was included as one of the X11 colors
when that color list was formulated. After the invention of the world wide web
in 1991, these colors became known as the X11 web colors
.
Bluing (steel)
Bluing is a passivation process in which steel is partially protected against rust, and is named after the blue-black appearance of the resulting protective finish. True gun bluing is an electrochemical conversion coating resulting from an oxidizing chemical reaction with iron on the surface...
, i.e., steel which has been subjected to bluing
Bluing (steel)
Bluing is a passivation process in which steel is partially protected against rust, and is named after the blue-black appearance of the resulting protective finish. True gun bluing is an electrochemical conversion coating resulting from an oxidizing chemical reaction with iron on the surface...
in order to protect it from rust
Rust
Rust is a general term for a series of iron oxides. In colloquial usage, the term is applied to red oxides, formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the presence of water or air moisture...
. It is one of the less vibrant shades of blue; usually identified as somewhat bluish-grey.
The first recorded use of steel blue as a color name in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
was in 1817.
In 1987, Steel blue was included as one of the X11 colors
X11 color names
In computing, on the X Window System, X11 color names are represented in a simple text file, which maps certain strings to RGB color values. It is shipped with every X11 installation, hence the name, and is usually located in <X11root>/lib/X11/rgb.txt.It is not known who originally compiled...
when that color list was formulated. After the invention of the world wide web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
in 1991, these colors became known as the X11 web colors
Web colors
Web colors are colors used in designing web pages, and the methods for describing and specifying those colors. Hexadecimal color codes begin with a hash ....
.
Light steel blue
At right is displayed the web color light steel blue, a light tint of steel blue.Fish
- In Siamese fighting fishSiamese fighting fishThe Siamese fighting fish , also known as the betta , is a popular species of freshwater aquarium fish. The name of the genus is derived from ikan bettah, taken from a local dialect of Malay...
the steel blue color comes from being homozygous for a single gene. - The Steel-blue Aphyosemion
Steel blue in culture
Sports- The Lehigh Valley IronPigsLehigh Valley IronPigsThe Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a minor league baseball team that plays in the International League. The IronPigs are the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. The team plays their home games at Coca-Cola Park, which is located in Allentown, Pennsylvania...
, the AAA affiliate of the Philadelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia PhilliesThe Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
baseball team, includes steel blue as one of its three colors. - The Colorado AvalancheColorado AvalancheThe Colorado Avalanche are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup twice, in 1995–96 and 2000–01. The franchise...
of the National Hockey LeagueNational Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
use steel blue as a secondary color on their burgundy uniforms. - The Steel Blue OvalSteel Blue OvalBassendean Oval is a sports stadium, located in Bassendean, Western Australia. The capacity of the venue is 22,000 people....
is a sports stadium in Bassendean, Western AustraliaBassendean, Western AustraliaBassendean is a northeastern suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Its Local Government Area is the Town of Bassendean.Bassendean is home to the Western Australian Rail Transport Museum. The display has a collection of Steam and Diesel Locomotives, most of these have been restored to operating...
.