Why Is Light White and How Do You Separate Light Into the Various Colors of the Spectrum?

We often refer to so called pure light as white, but light comes in a variety of colors depending on the length and speed, or frequency, of its waves.

When light travels through a prism, or a solid, multisided chunk of glass, it is separated into its various colors, known as the spectrum.

This separation occurs because the wavelengths bend at different angles.

From the shortest, fastest, or highest energy, wavelengths to the longest and slowest, or lowest energy, light separates into violet, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red.