How Are Rainbows

Formed?
What is a
Rainbow?
A rainbow is a beautiful arc
of colors that appears in the
sky after rain.
It is formed by the
refraction, dispersion, and
reflection of sunlight in
raindrops.
Sunlight and
Raindrops
When sunlight
passes through
raindrops, it bends
(refracts) and breaks
into its component
colors.
Dispersion of Light
Dispersion is the separation of white
light into its individual colors.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue,
indigo, and violet are the colors of
the rainbow, often remembered by
the acronym VIBGYOR.
Refraction of Light
Refraction is the bending of
light as it passes from one
medium to another, such as
air to water.
Different colors of light
bend at different angles,
causing them to spread out
and form a spectrum.
 Inside the
Raindrop
After refraction, light undergoes
reflection inside the raindrop,
bouncing off the back surface
and returning to our eyes.
Formation of
the Rainbow
The primary rainbow is the one
we often see, with red on the
outer part and violet on the
inner part.
A secondary rainbow can
sometimes be seen above the
primary rainbow, with colors
reversed.
Other Types of
Rainbows
Supernumerary rainbows are
faint bands of color inside the
primary rainbow.
Moonbows are formed at night
with the moon's light.
Double rainbows occur when
light reflects twice inside
raindrops.
Thank you
very much!