Colours
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The 7 colours of the rainbow
The seven colours of the rainbow are the "visible" part of the electro-magnetic spectrum - they are visible to (or can be seen by) the human eye. A rainbow is what we sometimes see in the sky when the sun is shining and it is raining somewhere at the same time.
| ultra-violet |
not a colour - invisible to the human eye |
| 7 violet |
|
These are the 7 colors of the rainbow - the "visible spectrum" (visible to the human eye) |
| 6 indigo |
|
| 5 blue |
|
| 4 green |
|
| 3 yellow |
|
| 2 orange |
|
| 1 red |
|
| infra-red |
not a colour - invisible to the human eye |
This mnemonic can help you remember the colours of the rainbow and their order:
Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain
NB: The prefix "infra-" means "below" or "under". Infra-red is "below" the colour red (and not visible). The prefix "ultra-" means "beyond". Ultra-violet is "beyond" the colour violet (and not visible).
A few other colours
Technically, white is not a colour (it is a combination of all colours), and black is not a colour (it is the absence of all colours). But in normal language we usually describe white, black and grey as colours.
