Rainbows appear when sunlight passes through moisture droplets in the atmosphere, producing a colorful ring – though only an arc is visible. When the sun is about 42° above the horizon (in the early morning or evening), droplets of moisture behave much like prisms: a ray of light refracts as it enters the droplet, reflects off the back, then refracts once more as it passes out of the droplet. This process disperses the ray into the colors of the visible spectrum of light.
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Showing posts with label light. Show all posts
Showing posts with label light. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Rainbows
Ditch the rose-colored glasses and prepare yourself for full-on Technicolor. Today on learnalittle, we’re chasing rainbows.
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