Light is a form of energy, or electromagnetic radiation, that has both wave and particle properties. As the experiments of Isaac Newton showed, light, when passed through a prism, breaks up into red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo (or blue/violet), and violet. These light waves are the visible constituents of light - known as the visible spectrum - and each has a different wavelength. While everything is possessed of its own intrinsic color, it is the existence of light that makes it possible for us to perceive that color.

We see color because, when light hits a surface, certain wavelengths are absorbed by the constituent material of that surface, while others are reflected. We see a blue surface because that surface reflects blue light waves and absorbs all the others. We see a red surface because that surface reflects red light waves and absorbs all the others. We see a black surface because it absorbs all light rays, and we see a white surface because it reflects all the light rays. It is the different combination of absorbed and reflected light waves that enable us to see different colors.