Color is a fundamental property of light that enables us to perceive and distinguish between different objects in our environment. When white light passes through a prism, it separates into a spectrum of colors, revealing the different wavelengths that make up visible light.
Primary colors are the fundamental building blocks of all other colors. In additive color mixing with light, the three primary colors are red, green, and blue. When these colors overlap, they create secondary colors: red and green make yellow, red and blue make magenta, and green and blue make cyan.
Color is determined by the wavelength of electromagnetic radiation. The visible spectrum ranges from approximately 380 nanometers for violet light to 700 nanometers for red light. Each color we see corresponds to a specific wavelength, with shorter wavelengths appearing as blue and violet, and longer wavelengths appearing as red and orange.
Our perception of color depends on specialized cells in our eyes called cone cells. There are three types of cones: S-cones that are sensitive to short wavelengths or blue light, M-cones sensitive to medium wavelengths or green light, and L-cones sensitive to long wavelengths or red light. When light enters our eyes, these cones send signals to our brain, which interprets the combination of signals as different colors.