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Why are rainbows shaped like "arcs"?
I saw two rainbows today, one very clear, one very faint. Beautiful, I love them. I just wondered why they were arc shaped. It must have something to do with the light refracting at certain angles. Please explain in lay language if possible.
Thank you for the answers so far. They don't really explain why it is round / circular and not straight or crooked.
3 Answers
- Anonymous1 decade ago
A rainbow is actually circular. Our position generally limits us to only seeing an arc.
We can easily create a spectrum by refraction through a prism. With a rainbow the ring is created by the light being refracted through spherical water droplets.
- Anonymous1 decade ago
They are "virtual" images, so there actual shape depends on where you are when you are looking at them; in the abstract, though, they are actually circular, and if you are in an aircraft above one, you can see that it is a big circle "laying" on top of the layer of water droplets of rain where it is being produced....when you are on the ground, they appear to get "cut off" by the horizon...
