Editing Pixel (section)

{{short description|Physical point in a raster image}}
{{other uses}}
[[File:Pixel-example.png|right|upright=0.45|frame|This example shows an image with a portion greatly enlarged so that individual pixels, rendered as small squares, can easily be seen.]]

In [[digital imaging]], a '''pixel''' (abbreviated '''px'''), '''pel''',<ref>{{cite book |first1=J. D. |last1=Foley |first2=A. |last2=Van Dam |title=Fundamentals of Interactive Computer Graphics |year=1982 |location=Reading, MA |publisher=Addison-Wesley |isbn=0201144689 |url=https://archive.org/details/fundamentalsofin00fole }}</ref> or '''picture element'''<ref>{{Cite book | author=Rudolf F. Graf | year=1999 | publisher=Newnes | title=Modern Dictionary of Electronics | location=Oxford | isbn=0-7506-4331-5|page=569|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o2I1JWPpdusC&pg=PA569}}</ref> is the smallest addressable element in a [[Raster graphics|raster image]], or the smallest addressable element in a [[dot matrix]] [[display device]].  In most digital [[display device]]s, pixels are the smallest element that can be manipulated through software.

Each pixel is a [[Sampling (signal processing)|sample]] of an original image; more samples typically provide more accurate representations of the original. The [[Intensity (physics)|intensity]] of each pixel is variable. In color imaging systems, a color is typically represented by three or four component intensities such as [[RGB color model|red, green, and blue]], or [[CMYK color model|cyan, magenta, yellow, and black]].

In some contexts (such as descriptions of [[camera sensor]]s), ''pixel'' refers to a single scalar element of a multi-component representation (called a ''photosite'' in the camera sensor context, although ''[[wikt:sensel|sensel]]'' {{gloss|sensor element}} is sometimes used),<ref>{{cite book | title = New Acquisition Techniques for Real Objects and Light Sources in Computer Graphics | author = Michael Goesele | publisher = Books on Demand | year = 2004 | isbn = 3-8334-1489-8 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZTJJ8QzNv1wC&q=sensel+sensor-element&pg=PA33 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180122150628/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZTJJ8QzNv1wC&pg=PA33&dq=sensel+sensor-element | archive-date = 2018-01-22 }}</ref> while in yet other contexts (like MRI) it may refer to a set of component intensities for a spatial position.

[[Software]] on early consumer computers was necessarily rendered at a low resolution, with large pixels visible to the naked eye; graphics made under these limitations may be called [[pixel art]], especially in reference to video games. Modern computers and displays, however, can easily render orders of magnitude more pixels than was previously possible, necessitating the use of large measurements like the [[#Megapixel|megapixel]] (one million pixels).