How do we see color?

Color effect.
By passing sunlight (white light) through a prism, white light refracts (is bent, causing light waves of different lengths to be revealed, red having the longest wave length and violet having the shortest) into the visible spectrum. This is the colored light in the visible spectrum ranges from red to violet.
The same spectrum is to be seen at the rainbow colors arranged in their natural order: Red - Orange - Yellow - Green - Blue - Purple - Indigo.

Daylight (white light) is made up of numerous waves or impulses each having different dimensions or wavelengths. When separated, any single wavelength will produce a specific color impression to the human eye. What we actually see as color is known as its color effect. When an object is hit with light rays, the object absorbs certain waves and reflects others.
For example, what we actually see when we observe a red flower is that the flower appears red because it reflects only red light and absorbs all other light.
The flower does not have color in itself. The light generates the color. What we see as color is the reflection of specific wavelength of light rays off an object.
The color white: If all light waves are reflected from a surface the surface will appear to be white.
The color black: Similarly, when all light waves are absorbed by a surface the surface will appear to be black.
The energy of light waves is converted into heat when absorbed. You can feel it without looking if you touch a dark colored car and a white or light colored one on a hot summer day.

The visible color spectrum.

Color Theory:

Next lesson: Lesson 2: RBG, CMYK, RYB Color Model.