Rainbows are formed by refraction, reflection, and dispersion of sunlight in raindrops.
Simple Explanation:
- Refraction: Sunlight enters a raindrop and bends because it moves from air to water.
- Dispersion: Inside the drop, the light splits into different colors (like a prism does).
- Reflection: The light bounces off the inside of the raindrop.
- Refraction again: The light exits the drop and bends again, spreading out more.
Each color bends at a slightly different angle:
- Red comes out at a wider angle,
- Violet comes out at a narrower angle.
What You See:
- The combined effect of millions of raindrops doing this creates a circular arc of colors in the sky — a rainbow.
- You can only see a rainbow when the Sun is behind you and rain is in front of you.
Key Point:
Refraction bends and splits the sunlight, and that’s how a beautiful rainbow forms in the sky.