Rainbows are full of trivia beyond debating if poor indigo should remain as one of the visible colors. Our language and perception restrict the rainbow to seven colors, not the science of color wavelengths. That span has more potential for color names than most people have imagination. If you ignore the debates about where you draw a line between color wavelengths and x-rays, you are left with a span of 10nm to. On the other side of the color wavelength spectrum, you leave infrared and hit the radio waves, such as radar. When you go past ultraviolet, you hit x-rays, then gamma rays. Science currently has ultraviolet boundaries of 10nm to infrared at. Thus, color in a rainbow is about how many names we wish to give the wavelengths. Our human perception has us using the same word, black, for two very different things. In a way, it could be argued that black is the artistic equivalent to white light: many colors in one. Black is the absence of light.īut in art, black is a color. For example, black isn’t color as it pertains to light. To the modern eye, it’s typically all one strip.īut how we see and perceive color is as much about how our eyes are designed as our language. There is the fact that Newton only added it to help reach the all-important seven.īut the main thrust of the indigo-go argument is that most people cannot differentiate between indigo and violet when looking at a rainbow. Just as there are roaring debates over Pluto’s planetary status, some want to kick indigo out of the rainbow. Why Indigo Is A Controversial Rainbow Color This discrepancy between perceptions of colors has led to indigo being pulled into a debate. What Newton thought of “blue,” he was describing a blue-green that is often associated in our modern world with the words “teal” or “cyan.” If we were to show Newton what we call blue, he’d probably call it “violet.” Thus, Newton’s blue may not be precisely how blue is perceived today. However, color becomes less scientific when we label it based on what we see. A color wavelength can be measured and assigned a number.Īny debate if that wavelength is 650 or 670 nm can be settled by getting out the tools and taking a reading. This is the difficulty scientists have when translating color wavelengths into languages like English. Thus, mixing Burnt Sienna with Cadmium Yellow will produce a different orange than Cadmium Lemon with Cadmium Red. This is because orange comes in a wide range. However, the answer isn’t straightforward when asked, “What colors make orange?”. Why Newton’s Blue Is Probably Not Your BlueĬolor is a spectrum. Or, more accurately, we do not always use the words attributed to colors in the way Newton understood them to mean. However, most Westerners do not see colors the same way as Newton. Now the rainbow was as balanced as a musical scale. Thus, Newton added two colors: indigo and orange. Take music that revolves around seven notes:
Numbers were in nature and music if only you looked for the patterns. For Pythagoras, numbers had power and symbolism. Thus, Newton observed:īut Newton was fond of Pythagoras, who was, in turn, drawn to mysticism. Colors outside the human spectrum, such as ultraviolet, had yet to be discovered. Thus, he was granted the privilege of influencing how we perceive the color spectrum known as a rainbow.Īt the time, Newton was bound by the colors he could see. He observed that rainbows resulted from light being split by a prism. Sir Isaac Newton is the physicist and mathematician credited as the person who understood the connection between rainbows and white light. However, Sir Isaac Newton initially only saw five. These colors are often taught to children backward with the easy-to-remember name: Roy G BIV.
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