Rainbow colors okay - scientific trends (2023)

ÖRainbow colors in orderThey are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. You may remember the acronym Roy G Biv!

We've all seen a rainbow at some point. But while these are fairly common instances, it's striking how little most people know about rainbows.

In fact, most people can't even name the 7 colors of the rainbow in order. If you've ever tried to close your eyes and try to name these colors in the correct order, you've found that getting it right is a lot harder than it sounds.

The usualmnemonic techniquesYou must memorize the first letters of each color in order (VIBGYOR) or convert them to a name by reversing the order (ROY G. BIV).

Sunset is still my favorite color and rainbow is second. —Mattie Stepanek

What is the order of the 7 colors of the rainbow?

The white light emitted by the sun can be divided into7colors orf the rainbow in order:

• To let
• Indigo
• blau
• green
• Gelb
• Orange
• Rojo

Simply memorizing the first letter of each color may be the best way to remember them.

However, there is no general agreement on this. Specifically science fiction and science fiction writer and thinkerIsaac Asimov (1920-1992)About this he said the following:

It is common to refer to indigo as a color between blue and violet, but indigo has never seemed to me worthy of being considered a separate color.- Isaac asimov.

Despite what Asimov said, it seems to be generally accepted that there are seven colors of the rainbow and that they do in fact contain the color indigo. This is probably because most ordinary people looking at a rainbow (either directly or in a photo or video recording of it) can see and identify all seven colors.

But there's a lot more to know about the colors of the rainbow than their order.

What is the origin of the 7 colors of the rainbow?

17^º17th-century English theologian, astronomer and mathematician.Sir Isaac Newton (1642 - 1726 or 1627)She was the first person to realize that it was possible to see the viewthe whole color spectrumbreak the white light.

The most natural way to create a prism would be using raindrops. Because of this, a great way to look at the visual spectrum is by looking at a rainbow.

Even a quick look at the color spectrum makes it clear that colors are not clear categories. If you look closely, you'll notice each color blending into the next.

Thus, the color violet mixes with the color indigo, the color indigo mixes with the color blue, the color blue mixes with the color green, the color green mixes with the color yellow, the color yellow mixes with the color orange and the color orange bleeds . in the color red.

What's on both sides of the spectrum?Ultraviolet or UVis a neighbor of violet and infrared or IR is a neighbor of red.

Because all the colors blend together, choosing seven colors can seem a bit arbitrary. Contemporary observers cannot question this because we accept that there are seven colors. We're told that, so it can be difficult to see anything else. But deciding that there are only seven colors, and thus ignoring anything “in the middle” of each of those colors, has very deep historical roots.

What is the story behind the 7 colors of the rainbow?

It is no coincidence that we chose 7 colors. The number 7 has a long history in western culture.

It all started in ancient Greece. back at 6^ºCentury BC, a mathematician namedPythagoras (ca. 570 - 495 BC)He believed that numbers are inseparable from the real world. Numbers were not just abstractions for him, they had almost magical qualities.

"There is geometry in the humming of the strings, there is music in the space between the spheres." - Pythagoras

It was Pythagoras who first applied numbers to almost everything that happened in real life. For example, he discovered that the seven musical notes could also generate mathematical equations (or at least he takes note of it).

He found that most phenomena in nature, or more generally in the real world, had something to do with the number seven. Mathematics and mysticism are combined in the thinking of Pythagoras. The thinking of Pythagoras was extremely influential among philosophers in the classical world.

If you're unsure if any of this is still relevant in 21^{S t}Century, consider how many different concepts are grouped with the number seven, many of which date back to ancient times.

For example we still talk about the seven wonders of the world, Christians believe in the seven daily sins, there were seven dwarfs in the Snow White story, etc. But not only that, there are also seven days in the week. Everywhere you look you will see the number seven.

Why are there 7 colors in the rainbow?

The crucial fact here is that Isaac Newton was not only an admirer of Pythagoras, but of everyone who has been influenced by his thinking over the years, especially people likePhilolaus (ca. 470 – ca. 385)and especiallyCopernicus (1473 – 1543).

This influence can be seen in how Newton's thinking about the color spectrum evolved. Initially, the English thinker saw only five colors in the spectrum, in the following order: red, yellow, green, blue, and violet. He only added orange (between yellow and red) and indigo (between violet and blue), after considering the Pythagorean connection between music and color.

Because as Pythagoras thought and has since accepted, there are seven musical notes, so there should be seven colors. Obviously there are more colors than these seven, but they are all the result of combining two or more of these seven main colors.

So, as you can see, the story of why there are seven colors in the rainbow is very complex, very long, and very old. But it's also surprising because it includes elements of math, numerology, and even music. Although most people take seven colors for granted, Isaac Asimov felt that indigo should be eliminated and the rainbow should only have six colors. Can you now name the 7 colors of the rainbow in order?