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White light (such as sunlight) and colors are closely related. A piece of glass or crystal can cause a beam of sunlight to break up into a rainbow: a beautiful separation of colors. The technical term for a rainbow is a spectrum. The colors in a spectrum range from deep purple to brilliant red. One way to remember the colors of the spectrum is with the mnemonic device (memory clue) ROY G. BIV, which stands for Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. English physicist Isaac newton (1642-1727) was the first person to study the connection between white light and colors. Newton caused a beam of white light to fall on a glass prism and found that the white light was broken up into a spectrum. He then placed a second prism in front of the first and found that the colors could be brought back together into a beam of white light. A rainbow is a naturally occurring illustration of Newton's experiment. Instead of a glass prism, though, it is tiny droplets of rainwater that cause sunlight to break up into a spectrum of colors, a spectrum we call a rainbow. The word "color" actually refers to the light of a particular color, such as red light, yellow light, or blue light. The color of a light beam depends on just one factor: the wavelength of the light. Wavelength is defined as the distance between two exactly identical parts of a given wave. Red light consists of light waves with a wavelength of about 700 nanometers (billionths of a meter), yellow light has wavelengths of about 550 nanometers, and blue light has wavelengths of about 450 nanometers. But the wavelengths of colored light are not limited to specific ranges. For example, waves that have wavelengths of 600, 625, 650, and 675 nanometers would have orange, orangish-red, reddish-orange, and, finally, red colors. Color: A property of light determined by its wavelength. Colorant: A chemical substance-such as ink, paint, crayons, or chalk-that gives color to materials. Complementary colors: Two colors that, when mixed with each other, produce white light. Electromagnetic radiation: A form of energy carried by waves. Frequency: The number of segments in a wave that pass a given point every second. Gray: A color produced by mixing white and black. Hue: The name given to a color on the basis of its frequency. Light: A form of energy that travels in waves. Nanometer: A unit of length; this measurement is equal to one-billionth of a meter. Pigment: A substance that displays a color because of the wavelengths of light that it reflects. Primary colors: Colors that, when mixed with each other, produce white light. Shade: The color produced by mixing a color with black. Spectrum: The band of colors that forms when white light is passed through a prism. Tint: The color formed by mixing a given color with white. Tone: The color formed by mixing a given color with gray (black and white). Wavelength: The distance between two exactly identical parts of a wave. Light can be seen only when it reflects off some object. For example, as you look out across a field, you cannot see beams of light passing through the air, but you can see the green of trees, the brown of fences, and the yellow petals of flowers because of light reflected by these objects. To understand how objects produce color, imagine an object that reflects all wavelengths of light equally. When white light shines on that object, all parts of the spectrum are reflected equally. The color of the object is white. (White is generally not regarded as a color but as a combination of all colors mixed together.) Now imagine that an object absorbs (soaks up) all wavelengths of light that strike it. That is, no parts of the spectrum are reflected. This object is black, a word that is used to describe an object that reflects no radiation. Finally, imagine an object that reflects light with a wavelength of about 500 nanometers. Such an object will absorb all wavelengths of light except those close to 500 nanometers. It will be impossible to see red light (700 nanometers), violet light (400 nanometers), or blue light (450 nanometers) because those parts of the spectrum are all absorbed by the object. The only light that is reflected-and the only color that can be seen-is green, which has a wavelength of about 500 nanometers. White light can be produced by combining all colors of the spectrum at once, as Newton discovered. However, it is also possible to make white light by combining only three colors in the spectrum: red, green, and blue. For this reason, these three colors of light are known as the primary colors. (For more on the concept of primary colors, see subhead titled "Pigments.") In addition to white light, all colors of the spectrum can be produced by an appropriate mixing of the primary colors. For example, red and green lights will combine to form yellow light.

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What color light is made when all 7 colors of the are present?

White. It is also called the spectrum.


How Blue light and yellow light combine to produce white light. What does this tell you about the two colors?

Blue light and yellow light combine to produce white light through additive color mixing, where different wavelengths of light are combined. Blue light, which has shorter wavelengths, and yellow light, a mix of red and green wavelengths, together encompass a broad range of the visible spectrum, resulting in the perception of white light. This interaction highlights that blue and yellow are complementary colors, capable of creating a balanced spectrum when combined. Thus, it illustrates the principle that combining certain colors of light can yield a neutral color like white.


Is White light is made up of an mixture of many colors of light?

White light is what we see when light of all (or most) of the frequencies in the visible spectrum are emitted together from the same source. It is the combination of every visible light wave.


What is the break up of sunlight into colors?

An optical prism can be used to disperse light from the sun's spectrum into all of its constituent colors. It is the same concept that gives rise to the phenomenon of rainbows.


White light can be separated into spectrum of colors because each color of light?

Has a different wavelength and energy. At the red end of the spectrum the wavelength is longer and frequency is lower, it will be less easily refracted than light towards the blue end of the spectrum, which is higher in frequency and has a shorter wavelength. The separation of the colours is called dispersion.

Related Questions

What is the results of combining all colors of the visible spectrum?

Combining all colors of the visible spectrum results in white light. White light is a combination of all the colors in the visible spectrum and is perceived when all colors are present in equal intensity.


The mixture of colors in white light is called the spectrum?

The spectrum


What does white light mean and how does it differ from other colors in the visible spectrum?

White light is a combination of all the colors in the visible spectrum. It differs from other colors in the spectrum because those colors are individual wavelengths of light, while white light contains all the wavelengths mixed together.


What is the evidence for the statement that white light is a composite of all the colors of the spectrum?

White light can be separated into different colors using a prism, a process known as dispersion. When white light passes through a prism, it splits into a rainbow spectrum of colors. This supports the idea that white light is made up of all the colors of the spectrum. Additionally, when all colors of light are combined, they create white light.


What is white light the entire range of?

White light is a combination of all visible colors of the spectrum. When white light passes through a prism, it separates into different colors due to their different wavelengths, creating a rainbow of colors.


Is ordinary light one color?

No. White light is a mixture of many colors. When you see a rainbow, you see the white light separated into its components.


What makes the colors in the rainbow?

The White Light Spectrum.


What colors create white light?

White light is created by combining all the colors of the visible spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. When these colors are combined in equal amounts, they create white light.


How many colors are there in the spectrum when white light is separated?

There are seven colors in the spectrum when white light is separated: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.


Which scientific tool can also separate white light into a spectrum of colors?

A prism is a scientific tool that can separate white light into a spectrum of colors. When white light passes through a prism, it is refracted at different angles depending on its wavelength, creating the distinct colors of the visible spectrum.


Why do we see white when all colors of light are combined?

When all colors of light are combined, they create white light because white light is a mixture of all the colors in the visible spectrum.


When an object reflects the entire spectrum of light how does it look?

If an object reflects the entire spectrum of light, it appears white to the human eye. This is because white light contains all the visible colors of the spectrum, and when an object reflects all these colors, it appears white.