What is the primary characteristic of visible light?

Visible light is characterized primarily by its ability to consist of multiple frequencies that can be separated into various colors. This occurs because visible light is part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which includes a range of waves with different wavelengths and frequencies. When light passes through a prism, for instance, it can be refracted into its component colors—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet—demonstrating that it is actually a mixture of different wavelengths.

Each color corresponds to a specific wavelength and frequency; for example, red light has a longer wavelength and lower frequency than blue light, which has a shorter wavelength and higher frequency. This separation and the diversity of colors formed from visible light highlights its unique characteristic.

The other options do not accurately describe visible light: it is not invisible (as indicated in the first option), it does not have the lowest frequency in the electromagnetic spectrum (as radio waves do), and while it does travel at a speed of about 3 x 10^8 meters per second in a vacuum, this speed is the same for all electromagnetic waves, not just visible light.