Physics of Rainbows Essay - 1751 Words

When the Suns light is refracted on passing through tiny rain droplets falling in the air a Rainbow is formed. Rainbows only need light from the sun or the moon and a large amount of spherical raindrops to form in the atmosphere. The rainbows can be compared to mini prisms. The light is refracted (bending of light as it passes from one medium to another) and it causes different wavelengths (or colors) of the white light to separate. Whether these wavelengths of light will pass through the raindrop or reflect depends on the angle the light strikes the back of the raindrop. If a wavelength of the light strikes the back of the raindrop at an angle less than 48 degree relative to the normal then the light will pass through the raindrop.†¦show more content†¦In fact a rainbow is made up of the entire spectrum of colors from red to violet and beyond to the ultraviolet and infrared sections of the spectrum, which the eye is not capable of detecting. The speed of the wavelength of white light before it hits the raindrop determines the color a raindrop will emit. If the wavelength of white light travels at a slow speed, then the wavelength of light will bend more when it enters the raindrop. Wavelength of the color violet is bent the most when it enters the raindrop.While red light is bent the least when it enters the raindrop. The violet light will emerge from the raindrop at an angle of 40 degrees relative to the observers line of sight. While red light will emerge at an angle of 42 degrees. Thus, violet light has the shortest wavelength. Red, being at the opposite edge, has the longest wavelength. Moving from the violet edge through the colors to red at the opposite edge the wavelength gets longer. Other colors of the spectrum can be seen in between 40 and 42 degrees relative to the observers line of sight. It is important to note that only one color of light is emitted from each raindrop. A large amount of raindrops produce a wide spectrum of colors of a rainbow. There are certain colors which cannot be seen by the eye.This is why the observer sees four to five solid colors of a rainbow. The color bands of a rainbow always have the same order since the shorter wavel engths of light are refractedShow MoreRelatedA Rainbow, By Rene Descartes1743 Words   |  7 Pagesbe able to really discuss rainbows we have to know the mechanics of them, which has been studied since ancient times. Greek philosophers were aware of the role of reflection in forming a rainbow and had some understanding of the role of refraction. In the 13th century, scientists produced theories on rainbow formation, and in the 17th century, Rene Descartes sketched out the conditions required to observe a rainbow (Douma). 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