![]() You are therefore unable to touch a rainbow, and this is why you are unable to see the end of the arch and can never reach the end of the rainbow. A rainbow has no physical appearance and is an optical illusion. This full-circle rainbow is referred to as a “glory” rainbow. This happens at sunrise or sunset when colors like blue and green that have shorter wavelengths are scattered, this results in a monochromatic red rainbow.ĭid you know, that due to the horizon, when looking at a rainbow from the ground, you will only be able to see an arc? If you are in an airplane, high above a rainbow, you may be fortunate enough to see a complete circle rainbow. There are also versions of a rainbow that have monochrome colors. You can even get quadruple rainbows! Water fountains, waterfalls, and just while you are watering the garden can also result in rainbows forming, so you do not have to always wait for it to rain to see a rainbow. ![]() When this happens, you will notice there is a fainter second rainbow slightly above the main rainbow. A double rainbow occurs when light is reflected twice through a droplet of water. It is also possible for more than one rainbow to form, such as a double rainbow. The sunlight reflects off the moon and then passes through the droplets of water to create a moonbow. Rainbows are even possible at night, especially when there is a full moon. This word is composed of two words, regn, which, translates to “rain”, and boga, which simply means “arched”. The name rainbow stems from an old English word known as renboga. ![]() There are records of rainbows lasting many hours in Sheffield, England. A rainbow can last for roughly an hour depending on the weather conditions. The sun cannot be blocked by a dark cloud or mountain. Therefore rainy, sunny days are the perfect time to see a rainbow. The angle of the light needs to be at 42 degrees for us to be able to see a rainbow. So, what makes a rainbow? When sunlight passes through drops of rain it creates the rainbow you see in the sky, the light gets reflected and refracted, forming the rainbow colors. There may be up to one million colors, we are just not able to see all these other colors. This was an easy way to explain colors, but there are more than just seven colors. Newton was a big fan of Pythagoras, who strongly advocated the connection between color and music, he amended it to seven colors to coincide with the number of musical notes. However, to better discuss the colors of the rainbow, Newton initially stated that the spectrum is made up of only five colors. So why are there only seven colors in a rainbow? These particular colors form a visual spectrum, this means there is no distinct color as the colors blend into the next. As the colors pass through a prism, they are bent, or refracted, at different angles, this is what causes the rainbow colors to be visible to the naked eye. While a color like red is 700 nanometers, meaning it has a long wavelength. Wavelengths exist in all colors, and you can use nanometers to measure, so for example, the color violet is 380 nanometers which is a short wavelength. These colors are visible to the naked eye. This illustrates that white light is formed from a large spectrum of colors. As the white light travels move through the prism, the light forms many colors as it refracts. Sir Isaac Newton, another well-known scientist, contributed to the research of light reflection and refraction with his experiment with glass prisms, which explained the breakdown of white light. Rene Descartes was the initial philosopher to describe light refraction and reflections back in the 17 th century. 2.4 What Are the Colors of the Rainbow?Ī rainbow is not just a basic color arc, it is slightly more complicated than that.2.3 Do You Get a Rainbow Without Colors?.1.1 What Are the Colors of the Rainbow?. ![]() The colours, from violet with the shortest wavelength to red with the longest, are called the “ visible spectrum”. This means that the distance between the tops of the wave is a different length for each colour. Each of the colours in the rainbow have what we call a different “wavelength”. You wouldn’t know it to look at it, but light travels in waves, like waves moving across the ocean. When the light goes through a raindrop, these colours can separate out. But the white light we see in everyday life is actually made up of a mix of different colours. The light that comes from the sun seems white to us. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we’ll do our very best. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to and make sure you include the asker’s first name, age and town or city. Curious Kids is a series by The Conversation that gives children the chance to have their questions about the world answered by experts.
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