How does rainbows appear

Light enters a water droplet, bending as it slows down a bit going from air to denser water. The light reflects off the inside of the droplet, separating into its component wavelengths—or colors. When it exits the droplet, it makes a rainbow. Sunlight is made up of many wavelengths—or colors—of light. Some of those wavelengths get bent more than others when the light enters the water droplet.

Violet the shortest wavelength of visible light bends the most, red the longest wavelength of visible light bends the least. So when the light exits the water droplet, it is separated into all its wavelengths. The light reflecting back to you, the observer with the Sunlight coming from behind you, from the water droplets will appear separated into all the colors of the rainbow!

Oct 17, We're glad to hear you enjoyed this Wonder, Dayton! Lily Sep 26, Sep 28, Welcome back, Lily! Noelle May 12, May 16, Apr 21, Hi, dallas! Visit again soon! Apr 7, Li Ming Eniglsh name:christy Dec 28, Hello, I'm a 6th grader. I'm doing a project and this really helps. Finger crossed, hoping that i'll past. If i don'y, thanks anyways. Dec 28, Grace Dec 11, Dec 11, Hi, Grace!

That sounds like a fun project! Very interesting! We hope this Wonder was helpful! Natalia Nov 13, Why do rainbows form and why are they called rainbows? Nov 15, Me and my mom go on a climb in the summer and go find rainbows soon as we get there we land and look behind it and try and look for gold.

Wonderopolis May 4, Sep 17, Amilee Apr 29, I thought the rainbow only had 3 colors but it doesn't. It has 7! From Amilee. Mal Jun 30, Jul 1, We agree, Mal! Thanks for your comment! Wonderopolis Apr 29, Ron Apr 25, Hello I understand that these articles are meant to be simple so kids can easily understand them but could you maybe provide links to more detailed articles next time so that we can learn more about these wonders if we're interested?

I would love to know more about some of the things you mentioned above about rainbows. Wonderopolis Apr 27, I was right of the rainbow thing in last wonder! Great job, wonderopolis is best! Wonderopolis Dec 3, We're glad you're hanging out with us, Ryan. Double rainbows are extra special! This is very helpful I was given an assignment on rainbows and am glad to find an answer here Wonderopolis Nov 5, Hi Kristy! Hi my name is rockstartanya. I like your name. Wonderopolis Sep 20, Thanks so much, we like yours, too, Rockstartanya!

Wonderopolis Mar 22, Thanks for visiting Wonderopolis! Wonder Friend Jan 12, An observer standing in the right place will see the dispersed sunlight reflected back towards them. Light scattered by many drops reaching the observers eye will appear as a colourful rainbow. Different colours exit the droplets at angles varying by around two degrees from red to violet. The red light seen by an observer comes from drops slightly higher in the atmosphere than the drops that scatter violet light towards the observer as shown in the image below:.

The colours seen are not a pure spectrum, there is some mixing and blurring of the colours. The human eye can pick out many hues but it is still common to think of a rainbow as having seven colours, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet ROYGBIV.

A rainbow occurs as a result of the interaction between sunlight, water and air, and this is the reason why it is mostly visible when there is a sunny, rainy day. The formation of a rainbow involves physical phenomenon, which includes dispersion, refraction, reflection and total internal reflection.

A Rainbow is formed due to sunlight and atmospheric conditions. Light enters a water droplet, slows down and bends as it goes from air to water, which is denser.

The light reflects off inside the droplet separating into its component wavelengths or colors. When light exits the droplet, it creates a rainbow. This happens when the rays from the sun come into contact with the raindrop at a certain angle. White light from the sun should hit the water droplets at a certain angle.

The angle formed is very crucial since it determines whether the rainbow will be formed or not. Rainbows form mostly at dawn or late afternoon since it is best if the sun is fairly low in the sky and provides the ideal angle to form the rainbow. When the angle is not appropriate, we are not able to see the rainbow.

When the rays from the sun strike or come into contact with droplets of water, the light from the sun is reflected. In the process, the light obeys the law of reflection.

It can be better understood when we see through a glass window, but, at the same time, our own reflection can be seen. This is because the window both transmits and reflects light. Water can do this too. The light that is not refracted crosses the boundary layer of air and water and slows down since water is denser than air.