• Question: How are rainbows formed?

    Asked by maeve99 to Arlene, Colin, David, Eugene, Paul on 19 Nov 2012.
    • Photo: Arlene O'Neill

      Arlene O'Neill answered on 19 Nov 2012:

      Ooooh tricky question to explain exactly, rainbows form when light from the sun bounces off water molecules in the sky. The light is dispersed into the 7 visible colours because some of the light travels slightly faster than other parts, we see the different colours. A rainbow can never be caught, its nothing physical, its a optical, weather related phenomena 🙂

    • Photo: Paul Higgins

      Paul Higgins answered on 21 Nov 2012:

      Yes, it is light that is bent in such a way by “refraction” to make a “virtual” image in the sky. Long wavelengths of light (red) are bent less than short wavelengths (blue) by the rain droplets in the sky. Try shining a torch into a glass prism, and watch a rainbow come out the other side!

    • Photo: David McKeown

      David McKeown answered on 21 Nov 2012:

      Rainbows come from Unicorn burps. Actual on second thought it’s what the guys say above. Ignore that unicorn thing, their burps are candy floss.

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