A Rainbow is a beautiful natural phenomenon and it is formed naturally by nature. It occurs when sunlight is refracted and scattered by water droplets in the air such as rain, fog, or spray. A rainbow appears as a circular arc of colors in the sky, with red at the top and violet at the bottom. Let’s learn more about the colors of the rainbow.
How is a rainbow formed
Rainbows are formed when sunlight is refracted (bent) and reflected by water droplets in the air. When light enters a drop of water, there the light slows down and bends or refracts. The speed of light is slower in water than in air. Even inside a water droplet light is reflected, bouncing off the inner surface of the droplet.
When the light exits the water droplet, it is refracted again and this causes the different colors of light to separate or diffuse. This is because different colors of light have different wavelengths. These wavelengths are bent at slightly different angles as light passes through a drop of water.
Separate colors of light exit the water droplet at different angles. Form a circular arc of colors in the sky. Red light has a much longer wavelength and bends less, so it is always at the outer edge of the rainbow. The other colors follow in order of decreasing wavelength, with violet light having the shortest wavelength and bending the most, so it is always at the inner edge of the rainbow.
Rainbows always appear in the opposite direction to the sun and appear as a semicircular arc in the sky because only half of the spherical raindrop is refracted and reflects sunlight to the observer’s eyes.
How many colors are there in the rainbow?
Red: This is the color at the top of the rainbow arc closest to the sun. It has the longest wavelength and is the most easily visible.
Orange: Orange is the second color in the rainbow after red. Orange has a shorter wavelength than red and a longer wavelength than yellow.
Yellow: This color is the third color in the rainbow after orange. Has a shorter wavelength than orange and a longer wavelength than green.
Green: This color is the fourth color in the rainbow, after yellow. Green has a shorter wavelength than yellow and a longer wavelength than blue.
Blue: This color is the fifth color in the rainbow, after green. Blue has a shorter wavelength than green and a longer wavelength than indigo.
Indigo: It is the sixth color of the rainbow, after blue. Has a shorter wavelength than blue and a longer wavelength than violet.
Violet: It is the last color in the rainbow and has the shortest wavelength of all the colors. It is at the bottom of the arc and farthest from the Sun.
7 colors of rainbow in order
1. Red
2. Orange
3. Yellow
4. Green
5. Blue
6. Indigo
7. Violet
A handy way to remember the order of the colors is the acronym ROYGBIV, which stands for “Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.”
Description
A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that occurs when sunlight is refracted or bent by water droplets in the Earth’s atmosphere. A rainbow is usually red on the outer edge and violet on the inner edge. It is often seen when there is both rain and sunshine. Rainbows are often considered a symbol of hope and appear in the myths and stories of many cultures.