Nothing in this world is as fascinating as the rainbow. Every time you see a rainbow appear, you might wonder what makes this beautiful sight appear in front of your eyes. After all, a rainbow is nothing less than a treat for sore eyes. Though the colors of a rainbow are evident, you might still wonder what are the colors of the rainbow. It is exactly what we are going to discuss here.
But first, let we would take one or two minutes of your time to explain what a rainbow is and what causes its appearance.
What is a Rainbow?
A rainbow is a meteorological and optical phenomenon caused by the reflection, refraction, and scattering of light in water droplets. These water droplets make a spectrum of light appear in the sky. It is caused by the sunlight and atmospheric conditions.
Light enters a drop of water, slowing and bending as it travels from the air into the denser structure of water. The same light reflects inside the droplet, splitting it into different wavelengths or colors. When light escapes from the drop, it forms a rainbow. A rainbow needs water droplets floating in the air.
That’s why we see them right after the rain. An actual rainbow is essentially a full circle, but usually, we only see part of it. In a plane, you can see the entire circular rainbow if the weather conditions are ideal.
What Makes a Rainbow Special?
What makes a rainbow so special is that no two people see it differently. Since it depends on how the light is bent and reflected towards you, everyone sees distinct versions of the same rainbow. Doesn’t that sound fascinating? Of course, it does! And with all the colors of a rainbow, it becomes even more fascinating.
So you must be wondering how many colors a rainbow has or what are the colors of a rainbow. Let us get to it.
What Are the Colors Of the Rainbow?- 7 Prominent Colors
Usually, rainbows have seven colors, like the seven musical notes. Color droplets in the atmosphere separate sunlight into seven colors. When leaving one medium and entering another, different wavelengths produce different colors.
These seven colors are called ROYGBIV. You must be wondering what ROYGBIV stands for. It stands for red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
| The seven colors in the rainbow are Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. These colors are commonly abbreviated as ROYGBIV. |
ROYGBIV is a mnemonic device or an acronym used to remember the correct order of the colors of a rainbow from the top of the arc to the end of the arc.
The Colors of the Rainbow
What are the colors of the rainbow? It is a very popular question still being debated by the public. Because two people don’t see the same rainbow due to the refraction of light from different points of view.
While the color order of the rainbow (visible spectrum) will always be the same, the way we talk about the color order of the rainbow can change over time. These seven colors of the rainbow have differing wavelengths.
It depends on how people look and choose to determine the color. Several modern depictions of the rainbow have only six colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple, choosing to exclude indigo entirely. There’s a possibility that in the future, children will be taught ROYGBV and not ROYGBIV.
Despite what modern depictions have shown and what science fiction writer Asimov has had to say about Indigo as a color, it seems generally accepted that the rainbow colors are seven in number and include indigo.
What Are the 10 Colors of the Rainbow?
As most people see the rainbow differently, some might mistake the rainbow for having 10 colors. In reality, the rainbow has much more than 7, 10, or 12 colors. According to science, a rainbow has only 7 visible colors, ROYGBIV.
Some people also mistake the rainbow for having 12 colors. Such people often ask, ‘what are the 12 colors of the rainbow?’ Again, this is nothing but only a mistaken notion that arises because of various scientific phenomenons. As mentioned, the 7 colors of the rainbow are in accordance with the seven musical notes. And it is only because Newton chose to define it this way.
Quick Recap
Rainbows are truly a wonderful work of nature. Watching a rainbow can make anyone feel elated. However, many times people often confuse themselves when it comes to the question, ‘what are the colors of the rainbow?’ An easy and straightforward answer to this question is that rainbows have only 7 colors i.e. ROYGBIV. So, next time someone asks you ‘what are all the colors of the rainbow, you are ready with an answer! Do you want to know about more trending topics? Check out which dinosaur has 500 teeth.
FAQs
- What are the colors of a rainbow?
Ans- There are 7 colors of the rainbow. ROYGBIV is the abbreviation for these colors. These include red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
- What are the 10 colors of the rainbow?
Ans- There aren’t 10 colors in a rainbow. In fact, there are many more than 10 colors in a rainbow. Usually, these colors are mixes of each other and thus look similar. That is why people only see 7 major colors in a rainbow.
- Is the rainbow color order subject to change?
Ans- Since we are able to see only 7 major colors, it doesn’t mean these are it. There could be several other colors between ROYGBIV, but our naked eye cannot see them because of the visible spectrum. Though we talk about the rainbow in terms of ROYGBIV, it would be wrong to say that its order might never change.
