ROYGBV are the initials for the sequence of colours that make up the visible spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.
- The visible spectrum refers to the range of colours visible to the human eye.
- White light, when passed through a prism, separates into a sequence of individual colours corresponding with ROYGBV which is the range of colours visible to the human eye.
- White light separates into ROYGBV because different wavelengths of light bend at slightly different angles as they enter and exit the prism.
- ROYGBV helps us remember the order of these spectral colours starting from the longest wavelength (red) to the shortest (violet).
- A rainbow spans the continuous range of spectral colours that make up the visible spectrum.
- The visible spectrum is the small band of wavelengths within the electromagnetic spectrum that corresponds with all the different colours we see in the world.
- The fact that we see the distinct bands of colour in a rainbow is an artefact of human colour vision.