Visible spectrum facts for kids
The visible spectrum (or sometimes called the optical spectrum) is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye. Electromagnetic radiation in this range of wavelengths is called visible light or simply light.
A typical human eye will react to wavelengths in air from about 380 to 750 nm.
The familiar colors of the rainbow in the spectrum include all those colors that can be produced by visible light of a single wavelength only, the pure spectral or monochromatic colors.
But there are no clear boundaries between one color and the next.
Color display spectrum
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|---|---|---|---|
| Color | Wavelength | Frequency | Photon energy |
| violet | 380–450 nm | 668–789 THz | 2.75–3.26 eV |
| blue | 450–495 nm | 606–668 THz | 2.50–2.75 eV |
| green | 495–570 nm | 526–606 THz | 2.17–2.50 eV |
| yellow | 570–590 nm | 508–526 THz | 2.10–2.17 eV |
| orange | 590–620 nm | 484–508 THz | 2.00–2.10 eV |
| red | 620–750 nm | 400–484 THz | 1.65–2.00 eV |
Color displays (e.g., computer monitors or televisions) mix red, green, and blue color to approximate the color spectrum. In the illustration, the narrow red, green and blue bars show the relative mixture of these three colors used to produce the color directly above.
Images for kids
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Newton's color circle, from Opticks of 1704, showing the colors he associated with musical notes. The spectral colors from red to violet are divided by the notes of the musical scale, starting at D. The circle completes a full octave, from D to D. Newton's circle places red, at one end of the spectrum, next to violet, at the other. This reflects the fact that non-spectral purple colors are observed when red and violet light are mixed.
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A rendering of the visible spectrum on a gray background produces non-spectral mixtures of pure spectrum with gray, which fit into the sRGB color space.
See also
In Spanish: Espectro visible para niños
