Rainbow colours in order
We will see the rainbow colour names in English. So first, we will see what a rainbow is. A rainbow is a pattern of colour that we see in the sky in the rainy season. It is a continuous spectrum of wavelengths of light. We see seven colours in all rainbows.
The colours of the rainbow are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
What is a rainbow?
A rainbow is an optical phenomenon. It happens due to reflection, refraction, and dispersion of light when water droplets are in the air. When sunlight passes through the rain or water drops, light refracts, and the water drops reflect it from the surface, getting refracted at different angles. This results in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky, in the form of a circular arc with seven colours.
We can also see the rainbow effect near fountains or waterfalls.
The rainbow appears in the sky due to sunlight in the presence of droplets.
Rainbow: a fascinating colour stripe
The rainbow is a beautiful creation of nature. It seems attractive and fascinates people of any age group: kids, the elderly, and the young. Everybody likes seeing a rainbow and enjoying nature’s beauty on rainy days.
Does a rainbow have only seven colours? Isaac Newton explained
We see seven colours in the rainbow, but closer inspection shows that there are more than just seven. It comprises a myriad of mixed and overlapped individual colours and is not a pure spectrum.
The sequence of the colours in the rainbow is always from the longest wavelength to the shortest. It doesn’t change, and always in the same order.
The great scientist Isaac Newton explained the formation of a rainbow after experimenting with a prism, a source of white light. He experimented with the refraction or bending of the light travelling from one medium to another, proving that the rainbow we see is due to this phenomenon. Newton was the first to explain that white light is a blend of all the colours that the human eye can see.
Rainbow colour names order in English
We know that any rainbow has seven colours. So, we will see the rainbow colour names with their order in this article.
The seven rainbow colours are:
- Red
- Orange
- Yellow
- Green
- Blue
- Indigo
- Violet
Every rainbow has these seven colours in the above order, from the upper side of the rainbow’s arc to the arc’s inner side.
The order of rainbow colours
We know that a rainbow is a coloured stripe. This is due to dispersion. Dispersion is the formation of the spectrum of colours due to the separation of white light. Newton proved by the experiment by passing the light through the prism that when light passes through the medium, it is in sequence violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red.
He knew that the colours of the spectrum of different wavelengths bend differently. In the experiment, he found that violet colour has a shorter wavelength, so it bends the most out of all colours. And the red colour has a longer wavelength, so it bends the least out of all colours.
How to remember the colours of a rainbow
Mnemonics are always taught in school to make it easy to remember something. In this, a word or phrase takes the first letter of each colour to create a new word.
There is an easy way to remember the rainbow colour order in which each letter stands for the first letter of the colour name as:
- ROY G BIV,
- Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain, or
- VIBGYOR
Rainbow colours- meaning of VIBGYOR
In these letters, V is for violet, I is for indigo, B is for blue, G is for green, Y is for yellow, O is for orange, and R is for red. All rainbow colours have different wavelengths. We see a rainbow colour pattern due to the different wavelengths of each colour. In a rainbow colour pattern, the colours are violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red from lowermost to uppermost. So, we can say the rainbow colour pattern- VIBGYOR (mnemonic) in short.
Wavelength of the rainbow colours
The wavelength is the distance from one trough to another or from one crest to another of an electromagnetic, magnetic or sound wave.
All the colours in the rainbow have different wavelengths. Human eyes can see these wavelengths of light in the rainbow, called the visible spectrum. Each colour has its particular wavelength. The colour indigo’s wavelength range is difficult for the human eye to distinguish.
Ultraviolet light has a wavelength above 1000 nm and is longer than red light. Human eyes can’t detect it.
Infrared light has a wavelength below 300 nm and is less than violet colour. Human eyes can’t detect it.
Here is a list of rainbow colours with their wavelengths.
| Colour | Wavelength Range (nm) |
| Red | 620 -750 |
| Orange | 590 – 620 |
| Yellow | 570 – 590 |
| Green | 495 – 570 |
| Blue | 450 – 495 |
| Indigo | 425 – 450 |
| Violet | 380 – 450 |
Colour position in a rainbow spectrum
- Red is the uppermost colour of the rainbow. This is a primary colour. It has the longest wavelength. Red represents vita
- Orange is the second uppermost colour below red. This is a combination of yellow and red. This is the first secondary colour in the spectrum.
- Yellow is the third uppermost colour of a rainbow. This is a second primary colour.
- Green is the fourth uppermost colour of a rainbow. This colour appears in the middle of the spectrum. This is a combination of blue and yellow.
- Blue is the third bottom colour of a rainbow and its third primary colour.
- Indigo is the second bottom colour of a rainbow. This is a tertiary colour, a combination of blue and purple.
- Violet is the lowermost colour in the rainbow. This is a combination of blue and red. Violet has the shortest wavelength in the rainbow.
Frequently asked questions
Does a rainbow exist?
No, a rainbow doesn’t exist, really. It is an optical illusion. It happens due to reflection, refraction, and dispersion of light when the water droplets are in the air.
What are the seven colours of a rainbow?
The seven colours of the rainbow are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
What colour is indigo in the rainbow?
Indigo is a deep colour. It is a mixture of blue and purple.
Do the colours of a rainbow change?
No, the spectrum of a rainbow colour is the same.
Related lessons-
