Science / Physical Science / Optics

What are the colors

in the visible light
spectrum?
By: HowStuffWorks.com Contributors |
Updated: May 19, 2021

Light can move as waves or as

particles, but the light you can see
is best explained in terms of waves.
Waves come in varying sizes, and
the sizes are measured in
wavelengths. A wavelength is the
distance from one point to a
corresponding point on a
subsequent wave, like from the
peak of one wave to the peak of the
next, or from a trough to a trough.
The only wavelengths that you can
see fall between 400 and 700
billionths of a meter. All of the
colors that you can perceive fall
within that range. Despite this,
waves can be much larger, like
radio waves, and much smaller, like
gamma rays. The visible light
spectrum is just a small part of the
overall spectrum of waves.

1
Light waves are also measured
according to their frequency, which
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is how many waves can pass a
given point in a given amount of
time. Frequency is measured in
Hertz, or Hz for short. When it
comes to visible light, your eyes
can pick up anything from 430
trillion Hz -- which you understand
as red -- to 750 trillion Hz -- which
you see as violet. There are other,
higher frequencies that you can't
see, and there are lower ones that
you can't see either.

Visible light can also be measured

by its energy. All waves are made of
traveling energy, and the amount of
energy contained in each wave is
related in proportion to its
frequency. The more energy a wave
has, the higher its frequency, and
vice versa. When it comes to visible
light, the highest frequency color,
which is violet, also has the most
energy. The lowest frequency of
visible light, which is red, has the
least energy.

Originally Published: Jul 26, 2011

Visible Light
Spectrum FAQ

What is the frequency of

visible light?

Visible light has a frequency

ranging from 7.5×10^14 Hz
(blue) to 4.3×10^14 Hz (red).

What is the wavelength of

visible spectrum?

The spectrum of wavelengths

we can see (visible light)
ranges from 380 nm (blue) to
700 nm (red). Below this
spectrum is ultraviolet, after
which we have blue and at
the top of the spectrum of
visible light is red, after which
we have infrared.

What color is 400 nm?

At 400 nm, we see a color

between violet and blue
named indigo. Nm stands for
"nanometers," or one billionth
of a meter.

What is the visible light

spectrum in order?

To remember the seven

colors of the visible light
spectrum, try memorizing the
abbreviation ROY G BIV. The
abbreviation represents red,
orange, yellow, green, blue,
indigo, and violet.
 

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