How does a rainbow form?
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A rainbow forms when light, typically sunlight, interacts with water droplets in the atmosphere. The process involves three key stages: refraction, reflection, and dispersion. 1. Refraction: When sunlight enters a water droplet, it slows down and bends (refracts) because light travels more slowly inRead more
A rainbow forms when light, typically sunlight, interacts with water droplets in the atmosphere. The process involves three key stages: refraction, reflection, and dispersion.
1. Refraction: When sunlight enters a water droplet, it slows down and bends (refracts) because light travels more slowly in water than in air. This bending causes the different colors of light to separate, as each color has a different wavelength and bends at a slightly different angle.
2. Reflection: The refracted light reflects off the inside surface of the water droplet. This internal reflection redirects the light toward the front of the droplet.
3. Dispersion: As the light exits the droplet, it refracts again. The different colors spread out further due to their varying wavelengths, creating a spectrum of colors. These colors appear as a rainbow, with red on the outer edge and violet on the inner edge.
The result is a circular arc of colors seen when you’re positioned in the right spot relative to the light source and water droplets. The colors of the rainbow are typically red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
See lessRainbows form when sunlight passes through water droplets in the atmosphere, causing the light to refract, reflect, and disperse into the colors of the spectrum: Refraction: When light passes from air into a denser medium, like a raindrop, it changes direction. This is called refraction. Reflection:Read more
Rainbows form when sunlight passes through water droplets in the atmosphere, causing the light to refract, reflect, and disperse into the colors of the spectrum:
See lessRefraction: When light passes from air into a denser medium, like a raindrop, it changes direction. This is called refraction.
Reflection: The light reflects off the back of the raindrop.
Dispersion: The light disperses into the seven colors of the spectrum.
For a rainbow to appear, the sun, raindrops, and the observer must be in the right positions:
The sun must be behind the viewer.
The sun must be low in the sky, at an angle of less than 42° above the horizon.
Rain, fog, or some other source of water droplets must be in front of the viewer.
Rainbows appear semi-circular over level ground at sunrise or sunset. When viewed from the air, rainbows form a complete circle.