This produces a sheen of "white" light, making the inside of a rainbow much brighter than the outside.
Violet has the shortest wavelength (about 400 nanometers) and it usually appears on the inner arch of the rainbow.Īt their edges, the colors of a rainbow actually overlap. It usually appears on the outer part of a rainbow's arch. Red has the longest wavelength of visible light, about 650 nanometers. Thus, spectrum is separated, producing a rainbow. The electromagnetic spectrum is made of light with many different wavelengths, and each is reflected at a different angle. When sunlight hits a rain droplet, some of the light is reflected. White light is how our eyes perceive all the colors of the rainbow mixed together. (Many scientists, however, think "indigo" is too close to blue to be truly distinguishable.) Biv" is an easy way to remember the colors of the rainbow, and the order in which they appear: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Someone who appears below or near the "end" of a rainbow to one viewer will see another rainbow, extending from his or her own horizon.Ī rainbow shows up as a spectrum of light: a band of familiar colors that include red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. In fact, no one sees the same rainbow-each person has a different antisolar point, each person has a different horizon.
#Easy reflection refraction and diffraction activity full
Because each person's horizon is a little different, no one actually sees a full rainbow from the ground. Viewers on the ground can only see the light reflected by raindrops above the horizon. Viewers in aircraft can sometimes see these circular rainbows. The antisolar point is the center of the circle. Saltwater has a higher refractive index than freshwater, for instance, so rainbows formed by sea spray will be smaller than rainbows formed by rain. A droplet with a high refractive index will help produce a rainbow with a smaller radius. A refractive index is the measure of how much a ray of light refracts (bends) as it passes from one medium to another-from air to water, for example. The radius of a rainbow is determined by the water droplets' refractive index. As this reflected light leaves the droplet, it is refracted again, at multiple angles. It is then reflected by the back of the droplet. Light entering a water droplet is refracted. A refracted wave may appear "bent," while a reflected wave might seem to "bounce back" from a surface or other wavefront.
Both refraction and reflection are phenomena that involve a change in a wave's direction. Rainbows are the result of the refraction and reflection of light. In fact, the center of a primary rainbow is the antisolar point, the imaginary point exactly opposite the sun. The sun or other source of light is usually behind the person seeing the rainbow. The appearance of a rainbow depends on where you're standing and where the sun (or other source of light) is shining. Rainbows can also be viewed around fog, sea spray, or waterfalls.Ī rainbow is an optical illusion-it does not actually exist in a specific spot in the sky. The most familiar type rainbow is produced when sunlight strikes raindrops in front of a viewer at a precise angle (42 degrees). A rainbow is a multicolored arc made by light striking water droplets.
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