What does the rainbow look like? How is the rainbow formed?

The rainbow always attracted the attention of a person with its incredible beauty and unusualness. Only far from all can explain what it is, where it comes from. And really, what does the rainbow look like? Try to describe this most interesting phenomenon to a person who has never encountered him. Will it work out? Let's try together.

What does the rainbow look like?

If you take five different colors, sweep a strip in a semicircle one by one in the blue sky, you will get something that looks like this miracle. Describe it in different ways. But any observer can find similar features of the phenomenon. First, it always represents a piece of the arc. At best - half the ring, each tip of which rests against the ground. Sometimes you can observe only a piece of arc. It depends on the position of the observer. Ancient people worshiped this phenomenon, considered it a special "sign". Naturally, everyone had to know what a rainbow looks like, so as not to miss such a heavenly "message." And now, what's wrong to hide, people are pleased to admire this phenomenon. They even say that this is a sign of the coming good luck. The rainbow is compared with the "heavenly yoke", the bridge, the gate and so on. It arises "out of nowhere", it does not rely on anything. It can not be touched, only to watch with enthusiasm. Its meaning is treated unambiguously - only in a positive sense. No people on Earth considered this beauty as a sinful or bad sign. What can not be said about the study of this phenomenon.

From the history

The Church did not welcome the scientists' attempts to penetrate the processes of rainbow formation. She insisted that the Lord creates all physical phenomena in nature. Examples of this can be found in the history of the XVII century. So, the scientist Dominis, who attempted to carry out similar studies, was excommunicated and imprisoned. He did not wait for the verdict of the Inquisition, having died in prison. Nevertheless, his corpse was burned (as did the heretics). The same fate awaited other inquisitive researchers. Although the course of their thoughts was generally correct. Obviously, arguing about how the rainbow looks, why it appears, they had to get close to the basic optical laws. Conclusions managed to make the scientist a Czech Mark.

The nature of white light

It happens that a person examines one small phenomenon, but draws conclusions, which then will be called fundamental. That is, with a small experiment, a revolution in science may begin. The now famous Czech was interested in physical phenomena in nature, examples of which he observed in everyday life. Only he was not satisfied with the explanations of the Church about the divinity of their origin. He conducted simple experiments with the sun's rays. Namely, he considered the rays passing through the faceted glasses. One day, perhaps accidentally, a piece came into his hands remotely resembling a prism. He passed a thin ray through it in a dark room. There was no limit to his surprise. One beam entered the piece of glass, but five came out, and multicolored! This was how the experimentally complex structure of white light was proved . Later, it theoretically substantiated Newton.

What happens in the prism and how does this relate to the advent of the rainbow?

When the white ray enters a different medium, it refracts. Since it consists of different waves, each of them behaves in its own way. When passing through flat surfaces this can not be seen. But in a prism resembling a pyramid, white light decomposes into a spectrum. That is, a wave of a certain color is refracted in its own way. At the output is no longer a white ray, but an iridescent strip. Now remember that the phenomenon under study appears during the rain. The sun's rays pass through the droplets, each of which resembles a prism, and is divided into a spectrum. And the viewer sees a rainbow in the sky. It seems that it was painted in the air. The magic of this phenomenon is unlikely to disappear, even if fully understood the mechanism of its occurrence.

What colors do the rainbow have?

Not all people perceive this phenomenon in the same way. It depends on the specific conditions, even the characteristics of the person's retina. But this does not mean that rainbows appear in different ways. No, they are all the same, just sometimes certain colors are less noticeable. Sometimes the phenomenon itself looks pale, and sometimes - very bright. Having looked through the theory, it is possible to tell with accuracy, what colors at a rainbow should be. First goes red. It is followed by orange. They can merge into one band for a person with a low sensitivity of the retina. Then yellow and green appear. Next - blue and blue. They can also be perceived by one strip of arc. It ends in purple. Such an "ideal" rainbow can rarely be observed. Unless in the laboratory. There is even a rhyme for children, according to which they remember the colors of the rainbow. Here it is: "Every hunter wants to know where the pheasant is sitting." The first letters of words are similar to the name of the color that makes up this magnificent phenomenon of nature.

Can I see a rainbow without rain?

If you understand how it is formed, the question will seem very strange. In order to get a rainbow, you need two conditions: sunlight and drops of water sprayed in the air (on the surface of plants). When does this happen? A beautiful rainbow (photo) can be formed in a waterfall or jets of a fountain. In this case, all conditions are met. Here it is important to consider that you can see the rainbow when the observer stands between a watery "suspension" and the sun. So, if there is such an opportunity, on a fine day, wander around the fountain. You are sure to find such a perspective, when in the air this magnificent phenomenon will arise. It also sometimes appears in a strong surf when the waves break up into a lot of splashes. If the sun is shining brightly, you can see colorful stripes in the air.

A look from heaven

We must understand that the main natural phenomena have their own patterns. If we talk about the rainbow, then they are sufficiently studied. So, people were wondering why it looks like a piece of a circle? It turns out that this depends on the point from which it is observed. The rays of the sun, refracted, fall into the eyes of a person. They are all straight. If you draw them on a piece of paper, you get an arc. And if you look at it from above, it will look like an iridescent ring. It is rare enough to see several "heavenly bridges". They arise when sunlight is refracted more than once in droplets. The cases of the appearance of two, three and five rainbows in the sky are described. A magnificent sight!

A different perception of the rainbow

The scientific basis for the phenomenon is boring. It is incommensurable with the sensations experienced by the viewer. Sometimes I even regret that everything is explained in detail in science. Natural phenomena of the summer, including this "sign of heaven", fill the audience with a feeling of incredible joy, an extraordinary miracle. It is even described in the Holy Scriptures. It was a sign from the Lord to the long-suffering righteous man. When Noah, fleeing from the flood, sailed in stormy waters without hope, but with deep faith in the soul, he was given a sign. They became a rainbow, appeared in the sky after a rain, lasted forty days. Noah realized that he was saved. It was from that time that the colorful arc was considered a good sign, a sign from the Most High. They say that it appears only to good, righteous people. Have you seen the rainbow yourself?