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Rainbow flags

Last modified: 2006-02-25 by antonio martins
Keywords: rainbow | difraction | planets |
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Some rainbow flags


About rainbow flags

There is a wide number of different “rainbow flags”. The best known is of course the Gay Pride Rainbow Flag, but also mentionworthy are the Italian Peace Flag — which is right now in wide use in Italy in a campaign to have it hanging from the balcony of those against the Iraq war, the Quechua-Aymara Inca-flag, or the International Co-operative Alliance Organization.
António Martins, 08 Feb 2003

The colors of the rainbow, considering only the optical phenomenon of difraction, merge seamlessly throughout the spectrum, but human cultures has tried to distinguish discrete colors. At least in the Western societies, seven colors are classically recognized:

  • red,
  • orange,
  • yellow,
  • green,
  • blue,
  • indigo and
  • violet.
The number seven was picked because of its popularity in arcana, which ultimately come from the seven astrological “planets” (five planets visible to unaid eye plus Sun and Moon).
António Martins, 08 Feb 2003