The shortest wavelength detection made by your S cones (violet light) has no overlap with the longest wavelength detection made by your L cones (red light).

Ultraviolet has very short and energetic wavelengths that are shorter than violet on the visible spectrum. But can people see UV?

Kids around the world have always drawn the sun a little differently. Americans tend to sketch a yellow circle surrounded by straight lines — sometimes with a smiley face or black shades ...

Colors with extremely short wavelengths, like violet and blue, scatter out much easier due to their short wavelengths. This “scattering” effect is what creates our color in the sky!

Each color has its own wavelength. Air molecules are just the right size to help scatter blue and violet wavelengths. Meanwhile, the rest of the colors continue down to the surface.

The shorter blue and violet wavelengths are scattered more strongly and do not reach the surface of the moon.

Violet light, at wavelengths less than 450 nm, is associated with a higher degree of light scatter and may have phototoxic effects that increase the risk for retinal disease.

More colloquially, we see this difference in wavelength (or energy) as color. When you see something as violet, for example, you’re seeing light coming from that object with a shorter wavelength.

This process is similar to why the sky appears blue on a clear day, due to the scattering of shorter wavelengths by the atmosphere.