Colors of the Light Spectrum

The light spectrum is the portion of solar radiation waves that can be seen with the naked eye. These waves have different lengths.

The crests of the longer waves pass a given point more slowly, so they are said to have lower frequencies. They have less energy. Short waves have higher frequencies, and more energy.

Because red and orange waves are longer, their light has less energy to penetrate through seawater. But blue light waves are shorter, have a higher frequency and therefore more energy. They penetrate the seawater to greater depths.