Spectral Colours & RGB Colours
$0.00
This diagram shows the six spectral colours associated with the colours of the rainbow.
- The top half of the diagram shows that each of these spectral colours can be produced by a single wavelength of light.
- The bottom half of the diagram shows that three spectral colours (red, green and blue) can be combined in pairs to produce orange, yellow and violet.
Remember that:
- Spectral colours are produced by a single wavelength of light. So each individual wavelength of visible light produces a different spectral colour.
- Rainbows are produced by spectral colours as sunlight is refracted and dispersed by raindrops.
- Red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet are familiar spectral colours.
Description
Spectral Colours & RGB Colours
TRY SOME QUICK QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS TO GET STARTED
RGB is a colour model used to produce a full palette of colours by mixing red, green and blue light sources in different proportions.
RGB refers to the colours red, green and blue. These are the primary colours used by the RGB colour model to mix wavelengths of light to produce a palette of as many as 16 million colours.
A non-spectral colour is any colour that is not be produced by a single wavelength of visible light.
Yes! When spectral colours are arranged in a diagram, the order in which they appear corresponds with their wavelength. The easiest way to show this is a band of colours of increasing wavelength with red at one end and violet at the other.
About the diagram
About the diagram
- This diagram shows the six spectral colours associated with the colours of the rainbow.
- The top half of the diagram shows that each of these spectral colours can be produced by a single wavelength of light.
- The bottom half of the diagram shows that three spectral colours (red, green and blue) can be combined in pairs to produce orange, yellow and violet.
Remember that:
- Spectral colours are produced by a single wavelength of light. So each individual wavelength of visible light produces a different spectral colour.
- Rainbows are produced by spectral colours as sunlight is refracted and dispersed by raindrops.
- Red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet are familiar spectral colours.
- The visible spectrum contains a continuum of spectral colours.
- The wavelength corresponding with each colour is shown in nanometres (nm). The wavelengths selected for each colour are for illustration only.
- In practice, the choice of wavelengths for primary colours usually depends on factors such as the colour model being used, the gamut of colours that a display device can produce and the context in which colours are to be viewed.
Remember also:
- The visible spectrum is a small part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
- Spectral colours should not be confused with RGB colours.
- Spectral colours relate to the visible spectrum.
- RGB colours are produced by mixing wavelengths using the three primary colours, red, green and blue.
- A demonstration of RGB colour is often presented in the form of a colour wheel.
- In a continuous spectrum of wavelengths, separate colours are indistinguishable to the human eye.
- The fact that we see distinct bands of colour in a rainbow is an artefact of human colour vision.
Some key terms
Wavelength
Wavelength is a measurement from any point on the path of a wave to the same point on its next ...
Visible spectrum
The visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum is called the visible spectrum. The visible spectrum is the range of wavelengths ...
RGB colour model
To be clear about the RGB colour model it is useful to remember first that: The visible spectrum is the ...
Electromagnetic spectrum
The electromagnetic spectrum includes electromagnetic waves with all possible wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, ranging from low energy radio waves through ...
Diagrams are free to download
Downloads: Slides or Illustrations
DOWNLOAD DIAGRAMS
- SLIDES are optimized for viewing on-screen.
- ILLUSTRATIONS are optimized for printing on A4 pages in portrait format.
SLIDES
- Slides are available in JPG and AI (Adobe Illustrator) file formats.
- Titles: Slides have titles.
- Backgrounds: Black.
- Size: 1686 x 1124 pixels (3:2 aspect ratio).
ILLUSTRATIONS
- Illustrations are available in JPG and AI two file formats.
- Titles: No titles.
- Backgrounds: White.
- Size: 1686 x 1124 (3:2 aspect ratio). So all illustrations reproduce at the same scale when inserted into Word documents etc.
- Labels: Calibri 24pt Italic.
File formats: JPG & AI
DOWNLOAD THE DIAGRAM ON THIS PAGE AS A JPG FILE
- JPG (JPEG) diagrams are 1686 x 1124 pixels (3:2 aspect ratio).
- If a JPG diagram doesn’t fit your needs, you can download it as an AI (Adobe Illustrator) file and edit it yourself.
- JPG files can be placed or pasted directly into MS Office documents.
DOWNLOAD THE DIAGRAM ON THIS PAGE AS AN AI file
- All AI (Adobe Illustrator) diagrams are 1686 x 1124 pixels (3:2 aspect ratio).
- All our diagrams are created in Adobe Illustrator as vector drawings.
- Save as or export AI files to other formats including PDF (.pdf), PNG (.png), JPG (.jpeg) and SVG(.svg) etc.
Spelling: UK & US
We use English (UK) spelling by default here at lightcolourvision.org.
COPY & PASTING TEXT
- After copy/pasting text please do a spell-check to change our spelling to match your own document.
DOWNLOAD DIAGRAMS
- Download AI versions of diagrams to change the spelling or language used for titles, labels etc.
- We are adding American English (US) versions of diagrams on request. Just contact us and let us know what you need.
- When downloading JPG versions of diagrams, look out for JPG (UK) or JPG (US) in the download dialogue box.
Download agreement
DOWNLOAD AGREEMENT
Light, Colour, Vision & How To See More (https://lightcolourvision.org) : Copyright © 2015-2022 : MediaStudies Trust.
Unless stated otherwise the author of all images and written content on lightcolourvision.org is Ric Mann.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this website may be copied, displayed, extracted, reproduced, utilised, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical or otherwise including but not limited to photocopying, recording, or scanning without the prior written permission of MediaStudies Trust.
EXCEPTIONS
Exceptions to the above statement are made for personal, educational and non-profit purposes:
Before downloading, cutting and pasting or reproducing any information, images or other assets found on lightcolourvision.org we ask you to agree to the following terms:
- All information, images and other assets displayed and made available for download on the lightcolourvision.org website are copyright. This means there are limitations on how they can be used.
- All information, images and other assets displayed or made available for download are solely and exclusively to be used for personal, educational and non-profit purposes.
- When you find the resources you need, then part of the download process involves you (the user) ticking a box to let us (at lightcolourvision.org) know we both agree on how the material can be used.
- Please contact [email protected] before considering any use not covered by the terms of the agreement above.
The copyright to all information, images and all other assets (unless otherwise stated) belongs to:
The Trustees. MediaStudies Trust
111 Lynbrooke Avenue
Blockhouse Bay
Auckland 0600
New Zealand
[email protected]
We love feedback
Your name and email address will be used solely to provide you with information you have specifically requested. See our privacy policy at https://lightcolourvision.org/privacy/.
We welcome your feedback 🙂
