What does a rainbow look like? Is a rainbow a source of light?

A rainbow is an optical phenomenon in meteorology. When sunlight hits water droplets in the air, the light is refracted and reflected, forming an arched colorful spectrum in the sky. It is common after rain. The shape is curved, usually semicircular. The colors are bright. Some friends are curious whether the rainbow is a light source? What kind of phenomenon is the rainbow? Open the following content to learn more.

Contents of this article

1. What does a rainbow look like?

2. Is the rainbow a light source?

3. What kind of phenomenon of light is the rainbow

What does a rainbow look like?

The rainbow forms an arched spectrum of colors in the sky, with seven colors from the outer circle to the inner circle: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and purple. A rainbow, in fact, can also be called a sky rainbow, or sometimes simply a rainbow. A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon related to optics, often appearing after the rain. When sunlight shines on water droplets in the air, the white sunlight will be refracted and reflected because the water droplets are like a prism, and eventually become a ribbon with seven colors and an arched shape.

The rainbow is formed when sunlight hits the nearly spherical water droplets in the air, causing dispersion and reflection. When sunlight hits the water droplets, it enters at different angles at the same time, and is also reflected at different angles inside the water droplets. The reflection at 40 to 42 degrees is the strongest, causing the rainbow we see. When this reflection occurs, the sunlight enters the water droplet, is refracted once, then reflected on the back of the water droplet, and finally refracted once when leaving the water droplet, for a total of one reflection and two refractions.

Is a rainbow a light source?

A rainbow is not a light source. A light source is something that emits light, such as the sun or a light. A rainbow is an optical phenomenon in meteorology. When sunlight hits water droplets in the air, the light is refracted and reflected, forming an arched spectrum of colors in the sky, which is common after rain. The shape is curved, usually semicircular. The colors are bright. The most common description of the seven colors of light in East Asia and China (in order of wavelength from smallest to largest) is: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. In fact, as long as there are water droplets in the air and the sun is shining at a low angle behind the observer, an observable rainbow phenomenon may occur. Rainbows most often appear in the afternoon, when the sky clears up after rain. At this time, the air is less dusty and full of small water droplets, and one side of the sky is darker because there are still rain clouds. There are no clouds above or behind the observer to block the sun, so the rainbow is easier to see.

What kind of light phenomenon is a rainbow

Light scattering refers to the phenomenon that part of the light deviates from the original direction of propagation when passing through an inhomogeneous medium. Light that deviates from the original direction is called scattered light. The scattered light whose wavelength does not change includes Tyndall scattering and molecular scattering, while the scattered light whose wavelength changes includes Raman scattering, Brillouin scattering and Compton scattering. Tyndall scattering was first studied by Tyndall. It is caused by suspended particles in a homogeneous medium, as well as turbid liquids and colloids. True solutions do not produce Tyndall scattering. In chemistry, colloids and true solutions are often distinguished based on the presence or absence of Tyndall scattering. Molecular scattering is scattering caused by density fluctuations caused by the thermal motion of molecules. Scattering with a change in wavelength is related to the microstructure of the scattering material.