Gourt > Kids and Teens > School Time > Science > The Earth > The Atmosphere > Weather > Rainbows
A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a nearly continuous spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines onto droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc, with red on the outside and violet on the inside. Even though a rainbow spans a continuous spectrum of colours, traditionally the full sequence of colours is most commonly cited as red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. It is commonly thought that indigo was included due to the different religious connotations of the numbers six and seven at the time of Isaac Newton's work on light, despite its lack of scientific significance and the poor ability of humans to distinguish colours in the blue portion of the visual spectrum.
Scientific explanation
The rainbow effect can be observed whenever there are water drops in the air and sunlight shining from behind the observer at a low altitude or angle. The most spectacular rainbow displays when half of the sky is still dark with draining clouds and the observer is at a spot with clear sky overhead. The rainbow effect is also commonly seen near waterfalls or fountains. Rainbow fringes can sometimes be seen at the edges of backlit clouds and as vertical bands in distant rain or virga. The effect can also be artificially created by dispersing water droplets into the air during a sunny day.
In a very few cases, a moonbow, or night-time rainbow, can be seen on strongly moonlit nights. As human visual perception for colour in low light is poor, moonbows are most often perceived to be white.
More on [ Rainbow ]
Optical Effects :: The Atmosphere
Nikki and the Forgetful Rainbows
colorfingers (Jenn Chew) Sat, 19 Dec 2009 09:27:57 -0000
Nikki and the Forgetful Rainbows
HYPED "remember when i caught your eye you gave me rainbows and butterflies" on LOOKBOOK.nu: http://lkbk.nu/look/363781
linchen_94 (frederike l) Sat, 19 Dec 2009 09:26:15 -0000
HYPED "remember when i caught your eye you gave me rainbows and butterflies" on LOOKBOOK.nu: http://lkbk.nu/look/363781
@noellendines spent the whole day looking for rainbows until late in the afternoon
secretquark (Dr Quark) Sat, 19 Dec 2009 09:23:20 -0000
@noellendines spent the whole day looking for rainbows until late in the afternoon
@colorfingers and yes, prom queen is performing with me. Acoording to her, we are "Nikki and the Rainbows. "
JustNikkerz (JustNikki) Sat, 19 Dec 2009 09:17:11 -0000
@colorfingers and yes, prom queen is performing with me. Acoording to her, we are "Nikki and the Rainbows. "
New Limited Edition Christmas Pysanky Ornaments - Snowflake Spiderweb of Rainbows: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=37031012
RainbowEggs (Ukrainian Treasures) Sat, 19 Dec 2009 09:15:25 -0000
New Limited Edition Christmas Pysanky Ornaments - Snowflake Spiderweb of Rainbows: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=37031012
#honeydew1214 LOVE Rainbows & Butterflies? http://bit.ly/4zS2md RT this msg as much u want & u can Win! @honeydewintmtes
lifestooshort7 (Laura ) Sat, 19 Dec 2009 09:13:11 -0000
#honeydew1214 LOVE Rainbows & Butterflies? http://bit.ly/4zS2md RT this msg as much u want & u can Win! @honeydewintmtes
Circles of Light: The Mathematics of Rainbows - Explains reflection, refraction, and how together they make a rainbow.
Colours of the Rainbow - Information on the rainbow occurrence and tasks and experiments to do.
Rainbows - Gives an explanation of rainbows and how they occur.
The Rainbowmaker - Pictures of rainbows, and how to make rainbows.
Meta Description: [ Fred Stern, the Rainbow Maker, uses large scale pumps and the sun's light to create natural rainbows as large as 2000 feet across. He is committed to creating rainbows only for organizations and events in support of Global Unity and Peace and will travel anywhere in the world for the right cause. ]
Weather Photography - Many photographs of colourful rainbows from the Australian Severe Weather Photography collection.
Meta Description: [ Stock photography pictures picture lightning photography Australia Australian Weather Photography Photographs storm chasing Photos severe weather supercell thunderstorms cumulonimbus wall cloud clouds lightning rainbows sunsets sunrises sunset sunrise fogs mist floods bushfire tornado tornadoes w... ]
What is a Rainbow? - Where older students can learn about one of the most spectacular light shows observed on earth.
Why are There Rainbows? - Physics explanation of rainbows.
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