Science behind formation of rainbow

Classical Mechanics Level 2

Which of the following phenomena is responsible for creating rainbows?

Dispersion Refraction Reflection All of the above

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Nihar Mahajan by Nihar Mahajan , 20, India

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1 solution

Nihar Mahajan
Jan 5, 2016

Actually the formation of rainbow is brought about by a combination of different phenomena dispersion , refraction , reflection of light. When it showers , each water droplet acts as a small prism. When sunlight enters the water droplets present in the atmosphere , they refract and disperse the incident sunlight. Then they reflect it internally inside the droplet and finally again refract it. As a collective effect of all these phenomena , the VIBGYOR rainbow is seen in the sky! :)

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NOTE [Just to extend what Nihar has beautifully explained] :

There are 2 types of rainbows : primary rainbow and secondary rainbow, where incident light undergoes T.I.R. for once and twice, respectively. So, what I meant to say was that we can't ensure that internal reflection inside the drop occurs only once.

Here is a diagram explaining primary and secondary rainbows :

Rainbows Rainbows

Venkata Karthik Bandaru - 5 years, 5 months ago

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Thank you for the diagrams!

Nihar Mahajan - 5 years, 5 months ago

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