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Rainbows an arc of concentric colored bands
Photograph by: Holle
A rainbow is an arc of concentric colored bands that develops when sunlight interacts with rain drops.

 


Rainbow arching over a paddock of cattle.
A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a nearly continuous spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the sun shines onto falling rain.

Rainbows result from refraction, reflection, and refraction of sunlight by water droplets.

rainbow"Any one of a family of large, colored, circular (or nearly circular) arcs formed by light (usually sunlight) falling on a population of water drops such as provided by rain, cloud, fog, or spray.

RAINBOW
A luminous arc featuring all colors of the visible light spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet). It is created by refraction, total reflection, and the dispersion of light.

Rainbow - an arc of concentric colored bands, arranged from red to blue, which may be seen on a "sheet" of water drops (rain, fog, spray) ...

Rainbow An arc that exhibits in concentric bands the colors of the spectrum and is formed opposite the sun by refraction and reflection of the sun's rays in rain drops.

Rainbow -Rainbows occur when sunlight is refracted and then reflected by raindrops. The raindrops act like a prism, breaking the light into the colours of a rainbow, with red on the outer, and blue on the inner edge.

RAINBOW: Optical phenomena when light is refracted and reflected by moisture in the air into concentric arcs of color.

rainbow: an arc displaying all colors in the visible light spectrum. Formed when light from the sun is reflected and refracted through water droplets. Always appears on the side of the sky opposite of the sun.

Rainbow An arc of concentric colored bands that spans a section of the sky when rain is present and the sun is positioned at the observer's back.

Rainbow
Group of concentric arcs with colors ranging from violet to red, produced on a "screen" of water drops (raindrops, droplets of drizzle or fog) in the atmosphere by refraction and diffraction of light from the Sun or Moon.

Rainbow An arc of concentric colored bands formed by refraction and internal reflection of sunlight by raindrops. Observer must be looking at a distant rain shower with the sun at his/her back.

May the Rainbow Always Touch Your Shoulder,
THE WEATHER DOCTOR IS FONDLY DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF:
Eric Sloane, Guy Murchie, David Ludlum, George R. Stewart and that Transcendental Meteorologist Henry David Thoreau.

Rainbow- An arc or circle of colored light caused by the refraction of light by water droplets in the air.
Refraction- The bending of light as it passes through areas of different density, such as from air through ice crystals.

Rainbow - They are one of the most common but most spectacular sky displays. Rainbows are caused by the reflection and refraction (bending) of sunlight passing through raindrops. In heavy rains a double rainbow can often be seen.

RAINBOW - An arc or semicircle containing all the component colors of visible light caused by the refraction of sunlight in raindrops (or ice crystals).

A rainbow that has a white band that appears in fog, and is fringed with red on the outside and blue on the inside.
Forced Channeling ...

Sea rainbow Same as marine rainbow. Sea water thermometer A thermometer designed for use in measuring the temperature of sea water. One form consists of a mercury-in-glass thermometer protected by a perforated metal case.

This is a primary reason for colors, such as blue skies, rainbows, and orange sunsets. When working with radars, this often refers to the more or less random changes in direction of radio energy.

Rainbows are formed by raindrops which are so large that rays passing through them follow well defined 'geometrical optics' paths.

They will, however, exhibit the rainbow and other reflection-refraction phenomena, as will ice crystals. The particles in fogs and clouds are much smaller, so they may show diffraction effects, as well as small-angle scattering in any case.

This may include: unusual atmospheric phenomena such as sun dogs, halos, rainbows, aurora borealis, lenticular clouds, and stories about a long-term dry/cold/wet/warm spell. 2) Public educational information and activities, ...

For example, the rainbow can be described by imagining sunlight incident on a raindrop to be subdivided into many rays, each of which obeys the laws of (specular) reflection and refraction.

SCATTERING The process by which small particles suspended in the air diffuse a portion of the incident radiation in all directions. This is a primary reason for colors, such as blue skies, rainbows, and orange sunsets.

1) A current or expected nonhazardous event of general interest to the public that can usually be covered with a single message (e.g., unusual atmospheric phenomena such as sun dogs, halos, rainbows, aurora borealis, lenticular clouds, ...

in the earth's atmosphere and exhibiting prismatic coloration ranging from red inside to blue outside.
NOAA National Weather Service - Cite This Source - This Definition
Browse Related Terms: Corona, Crepuscular Rays, disk, Parhelion, Rainbow, ...

Reflection Occurs when light that is traveling through a transparent material, such as water reaches the opposite surface and is reflected back into the material. This is an important factor in the formation of such optical phenomena as rainbows.

See also: Light, Water, Weather, Surface, Air

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