Which of the following phenomena of light are involved in theformation of a rainbow?
Question
Which of the following phenomena of light are involved in the formation of a rainbow?
Solution
The formation of a rainbow involves several phenomena of light, including:
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Refraction: This is the bending of light as it passes from one medium to another (in this case, from air to water droplets in the atmosphere). When sunlight hits the raindrop, it is refracted, or bent, and then hits the inside surface of the raindrop.
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Reflection: After refraction, light is reflected off the inside surface of the raindrop. Some of this reflected light escapes from the raindrop, but some is reflected back into the drop and is refracted again as it exits the drop.
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Dispersion: This is the process by which white light is separated into its component colors. When light is refracted, different wavelengths (or colors) of light are bent by different amounts. This causes the light to spread out into a spectrum of colors, creating the familiar rainbow pattern.
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Total Internal Reflection: This phenomenon occurs when the light hits the raindrop at a certain angle, causing all the light to be reflected back into the drop instead of being refracted out of it. This is what causes the light to be reflected back towards the observer and create the circular arc of the rainbow.
So, the phenomena of light involved in the formation of a rainbow are refraction, reflection, dispersion, and total internal reflection.
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