Rainbows

1
Rainbows

• By Suzanne Kring

2
Colors of the Rainbow

• Red
• Orange
• Yellow
• Green
• Blue
• Indigo
• Violet

Sir Isaac Newton discovered the seven colors of
the spectrum red, orange, yellow, green, blue,
indigo, violet.
3
What Causes a Rainbow?
Click on image to open link
4
You can make your own rainbow.
While light looks white, it actually contains all
of the colors in the spectrum.
Click on image to open link
You can make a rainbow with your garden hose on
a sunny day.
5
Primary and Secondary Rainbows
When sunlight enters a raindrop, part of it is
reflected from the inside. It is refracted when
entering and leaving the raindrop. This process,
repeated for a huge number of raindrops, produces
the primary rainbow. It has the red band on the
outer edge, which are long light waves and the
blue-to-violet on the inner edge which are short
light waves. Another bow is often seen outside
the primary rainbow and parallel to it. This
secondary rainbow is produced in a similar way,
but the sunlight is reflected twice before
emerging from the raindrop, so the color sequence
is reversed red is on the inside, and because
there is a loss of light with each reflection, it
is not as bright as the primary rainbow.
6
Rainbow Legends
The legends of many cultures see the rainbow as a
kind of bridge between heaven and earth. The
idea that a pot of gold can be found at the
rainbow's end originated somewhere in old Europe.
The Wizard of Oz is considered a great American
fairy tale. The movie introduced the song,
Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Click on the
picture to hear Dorothy sing it.
7
Some nice rainbow shots
8
References

• Lindén B., (July 7, 2005). Chitambo Clouds and
  other meteorological phenomena. Retrieved Nov.
  20, 2005, from Rainbows website http//www.chitam
  bo.com/clouds/cloudshtml/rainbows.html
• Cowley L., (November 11, 2005). Atmospheric
  optics. Retrieved Nov. 20, 2005 from Rainbows
  website http//www.sundog.clara.co.uk/rainbows/b
  ows.htm
• University of Nebraska Lincoln School of
  Natural Resources, (n.d.). Rainbow Pictures.
  Retrieved Nov. 20, 2005 from
  http//snrs.unl.edu/amet351/graf/bowpics.html
• Loy, J., What causes a rainbow?, (2000).
  Retrieved Nov. 20, 2005 from http//www.jimloy.c
  om/physics/rainbow0.htm
• How stuff works, (n.d.). What causes a rainbow?
  Retrieved Nov. 20, 2005 from http//science.hows
  tuffworks.com/question41.htm
• Andreas Wizard of Oz homepage. (1997). Sing
  along with Dorothy. Retrieved Nov. 20, 2005
  from http//home.att.net/wizardoz/overtherainbo
  w.wav