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The Formation of a Rainbow (upload.wikimedia.org)
submitted 4 months ago by to c/physics@mander.xyz
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Diagram showing how primary and secondary rainbows are formed due to the light propagation in spherical droplets.

  1. Spherical droplet
  2. Places where internal reflection of the light occurs
  3. Primary rainbow
  4. Places where refraction of the light occurs
  5. Secondary rainbow
  6. Incoming beams of white light
  7. Path of light contributing to primary rainbow
  8. Path of light contributing to secondary rainbow
  9. Observer
  10. Region forming the primary rainbow
  11. Region forming the secondary raimbow
  12. Zone in the atmosphere holding countless tiny spherical droplets

Author: Peo

CC BY-SA 3.0

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[–] 1 point 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

I've always loved the fact that a rainbow isn't just located where you see it. It's actually a set of 3D nested and overlapping cylinders, with you only really seeing a 2D "slice" of it from any one perspective.

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