People have long thought about the nature of this most beautiful natural phenomenon. Humanity has associated the rainbow with many beliefs and legends. In ancient Greek mythology, for example, a rainbow is the road between heaven and earth, along which the messenger between the world of the gods and the world of people, Irida, walked. In China, it was believed that the rainbow is a heavenly dragon, the union of Heaven and Earth. In Slavic myths and legends, the rainbow was considered magical. heavenly bridge, thrown from heaven to earth, the road along which angels descend from heaven to draw water from rivers. They pour this water into the clouds and from there it falls as life-giving rain.

Superstitious people believed that the rainbow is a bad sign. They believed that the souls of the dead pass into the other world along the rainbow, and if a rainbow appeared, this means someone's imminent death.

The rainbow also appears in many folk omens associated with weather forecasting. For example, a high and steep rainbow portends good weather, while a low and flat one portends bad weather.

Where does the rainbow come from?

Please note that rainbows can only be observed before or after rain. And only if the sun breaks through the clouds at the same time as the rain. What is happening? The rays of the sun pass through the raindrops. And each such droplet works like a prism. That is, it decomposes the white light of the Sun into its components - the rays of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Moreover, the droplets deflect light in different ways. different colors, as a result of which white light decomposes into a multi-colored band, which is called spectrum.

The refraction of light as it passes through a prism.
Note that rays of different colors exit the prism at different angles.

The rainbow is a huge curved spectrum. To an observer on the ground, a rainbow usually looks like an arc - part of a circle, and the higher the observer is, the fuller the rainbow. From a mountain or an airplane, you can also see the full circle! Why is the rainbow shaped like an arc?

You can only see a rainbow if you are directly between the sun (it should be behind you) and the rain (it should be in front of you). Otherwise, you won't see the rainbow!

Sometimes you can see another, less bright rainbow around the first one. This is a secondary rainbow in which the light is reflected twice in the drop. In the secondary rainbow, the “inverted” order of colors is purple on the outside, and red on the inside:

To remember the sequence of colors in the rainbow (or spectrum), there are special simple phrases - in them the first letters correspond to the first letters of the color names:

• How once Zhak-Z vonar Head C broke Lantern.
• To every O hotnik AND does Z nat G de FROM goes F azan

Memorize them - and you can easily draw a rainbow at any time!

(!) The first to explain the nature of the rainbow was Aristotle. He defined that "a rainbow is optical phenomenon, not a material object."

The rainbow is usually explained by the simple refraction and reflection of the sun's rays in raindrops. Light emerges from the drop over a wide range of angles, but the greatest intensity is observed at an angle corresponding to the rainbow. Visible light of different wavelengths is refracted in a drop in different ways, that is, it depends on the wavelength of light (that is, color). A side rainbow is formed as a result of a double reflection of light inside each drop. In this case, the rays of light exit the drop at different angles than those that produce the main rainbow, and the colors in the secondary rainbow are in reverse order. The distance between the drops, which caused the rainbow, and the observer does not play a role

Typically, a rainbow is a colored arc with an angular radius of 42°, visible against the background of a curtain of heavy rain or rainfall streaks, often not reaching the Earth's surface. The rainbow is visible in the side of the sky opposite the Sun, and always with the Sun not covered by clouds.

The center of the rainbow is a point diametrically opposite to the Sun - the antisolar point. The outer arc of the rainbow is red, followed by orange, yellow, green arcs, etc., ending with the inner purple.

All rainbows are sunlight broken down into its components and moved across the firmament in such a way that it appears to come from the part of the firmament opposite that of the Sun.

The scientific explanation of the rainbow was first given by Rene Descartes in 1637. Descartes explained the rainbow on the basis of the laws of refraction and reflection of sunlight in drops of falling rain.

30 years later, Isaac Newton, who discovered the dispersion of white light upon refraction, supplemented Descartes' theory by explaining how colored rays are refracted in raindrops.

Despite the fact that Descartes-Newton's theory of the rainbow was created more than 300 years ago, it correctly explains the main features of the rainbow: the position of the main arcs, their angular dimensions, the arrangement of colors in rainbows of various orders.

So, let a parallel beam of sunlight fall on a drop. Due to the fact that the surface of the drop is curved, different rays will have different angles of incidence. They vary from 0 to 90°. Let us trace the path of the beam passing through the drop. Having refracted at the air-water boundary, the beam enters the drop and reaches the opposite boundary. Part of the energy of the beam, refracted, leaves the drop, part, having experienced internal reflection, again goes inside the drop to the next place of reflection. Here again, part of the beam energy, having been refracted, leaves the drop, and some part, having experienced a second internal reflection, goes through the drop, etc. In principle, the beam can experience any number of internal reflections, and each beam has two refractions - at the entrance and at exit from the drop. A parallel beam of rays incident on a drop turns out to be strongly divergent upon exiting the drop (Fig. 2). The concentration of rays, and hence their intensity, is the greater, the closer they lie to the beam that has experienced the minimum deviation. Only the minimally deflected beam and the beams closest to it have sufficient intensity to form a rainbow. Therefore, this ray is called the ray of the rainbow.

Each white ray, refracted in a drop, decomposes into a spectrum, and a beam of divergent colored rays emerges from the drop. Since red rays have a lower refractive index than other colored rays, they will experience minimal deviation compared to the rest. The minimum deviations of the extreme color rays of the visible spectrum of red and violet are as follows: D1k \u003d 137 ° 30 "and D1ph \u003d 139 ° 20 \". The remaining colored rays will occupy intermediate positions between them.

The sun's rays that have passed through a drop with one internal reflection turn out to be emanating from points in the sky located closer to the antisolar point than to the Sun. Therefore, to see these rays, you must stand with your back to the Sun. Their distances from the antisolar point will be equal respectively: 180° - 137°30" = 42°30" for red and 180° - 139°20" = 40°40" for violet.

Why is the rainbow round? The fact is that a more or less spherical drop, illuminated by a parallel beam of rays of sunlight, can form a rainbow only in the form of a circle. Let's explain this.

The described path in the drop with a minimum deviation on leaving it makes not only the ray that we followed, but also many other rays that fell on the drop at the same angle. All these rays form a rainbow, which is why they are called rainbow rays.

How many rays of a rainbow are there in a beam of light falling on a drop? There are many of them, in fact, they form a whole cylinder. The locus of the points of their fall on the drop is a whole circle.

As a result of passing through the drop and refraction in it, the cylinder of white rays is transformed into a series of colored funnels inserted one into the other, centered at the antisolar point, with open bells facing the observer. The outer funnel is red, orange is inserted into it, yellow, then comes green, etc., ending with the inner violet.

Thus, each individual drop forms a whole rainbow!

Of course, the rainbow from one drop is weak, and in nature it is impossible to see it separately, since there are many drops in the curtain of rain. In the laboratory, it was possible to observe not one, but several rainbows formed by the refraction of light in one suspended drop of water or oil when illuminated by a laser beam.

The rainbow that we see in the sky is mosaic - it is formed by myriads of drops. Each drop creates a series of colored funnels (or cones) nested one on top of the other. But from a single drop, only one colored ray enters the rainbow. The observer's eye is a common point at which colored rays from many drops intersect. For example, all red rays that come out of different drops, but at the same angle and hit the eye of the observer, form a red arc of the rainbow, and so do all orange and other colored rays. Therefore, the rainbow is round.

Two people standing side by side see each their own rainbow. If you walk along the road and look at the rainbow, it moves with you, being formed at every moment by the refraction of the sun's rays in more and more drops. Next, raindrops fall. The place of the fallen drop is occupied by another and manages to send its colored rays into the rainbow, followed by the next one, and so on. it's raining we see a rainbow.

Why does a rainbow appear? Why does a rainbow happen after rain?

What is a rainbow? In scientific terms, a rainbow is an atmospheric optical phenomenon. A rainbow appears under several conditions:

• increased air humidity (for example, rain, immediately after rain, fog)
• the presence of the sun (or other light source)

Also, in order for a rainbow to appear, it is necessary that the light source be behind the observer. The sun's rays, meeting water droplets on their way, are refracted, breaking up into several colors, forming a multi-colored line in the form of a semicircle. Exactly the same effect is produced not only by raindrops, but also by fog, a waterfall, various reservoirs (rivers, lakes).

In addition, a rainbow appears only when a beam of light is reflected from a drop at an angle of 42 °.

The width, brightness of the rainbow depends on the size of the drops. The larger they are, the brighter and narrower the rainbow. But small drops give a poor, faded color, but at the same time the rainbow itself will be much wider.

Why is the rainbow multicolored? How many colors are in the rainbow - and what colors are they?

To understand why a rainbow is multi-colored, you need to know what a beam of light is and what happens to it when it collides with a drop of liquid. A beam of light is an electromagnetic wave consisting of a stream of elementary particles. The stream of light is a wave of different lengths and when refraction (deflection) of sunlight, it breaks up. At the same time, shorter waves with less energy deviate less than the others, and give a red color. The longest wavelengths, deviating more than the rest, give a violet color at the output. Thus, the white beam we see forms a line of several colors perceived by our eye. This line in science is called the optical spectrum. The colors into which a beam of light breaks up are usually seven: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. That is how many colors are in the rainbow and in that order they are located when a person observes them. To remember what colors the rainbow has, you can learn a special phrase:

Every Hunter Wants to Know Where Sits Pheasant

where the first letter of each word corresponds to the first letter of the color - "Each" corresponds to "red", "Hunter" - "orange", and so on.

Exactly the same effect as during the appearance of a rainbow can be reproduced using a special device made of a transparent material (for example, glass) in the form of a prism. A beam of light is directed to a prism, where it splits into seven base colors- at the output we get a stream of multi-colored rays.

Why is a rainbow an arc?

The properties of the light flux are such that, reflecting from a drop of rain, fog, and the like, it forms an optical spectrum in the form of a full circle, but we, being low on the ground, see only half of it, since the center of this circle is on the same level with us .

The rainbow can only be seen in its entirety from above. high mountain or an airplane.

Is it true that only humans see rainbows?

No it is not true. In fact, all beings that have vision can see the rainbow. If they have color vision similar to ours, then they see it in much the same way as we do. For example, monkeys, birds. But even in the absence of color vision, animals, insects and other living beings are able to see the rainbow.

How many rainbows can you see at the same time?

Sometimes a beam of light, passing inside the drop, is refracted two or more times. Then you can see two rainbows in the sky. At the same time, there are also a third and subsequent rainbows, but our vision is no longer able to distinguish them. So sometimes during rain and other atmospheric events, you can see two rainbows instead of one. In this case, between the two rainbows, a so-called stripe alexander - a dark area of ​​the sky.

What else are rainbows?

There are other types of rainbows, however, quite rare, such as, for example:

inverted rainbow- appears at an altitude of 7-8 kilometers, when there are cirrus clouds in the sky, consisting of ice crystals. The colors in such a rainbow are reversed - purple comes first, and red comes last.

moon rainbow- visible at night when the observer is between the moon and the rain. It can also be seen next to the waterfalls.

fiery rainbow - scientifically "horizontal arc": appears when the flow of solar energy passes through cirrus clouds at an angle of 58 ° above the horizon. In this case, the ice crystals should have the shape of a hexagonal sheet and be parallel to the ground.

white rainbow- she is also a foggy rainbow: it appears when the sun pierces the fog, consisting of small droplets of water, with its rays.

winter rainbow - appears during severe frosts when the air is filled with many ice crystals and the sun shines brightly.

Why is it said that animals go to the rainbow? Rainbow Bridge - Animal Paradise?

In Western culture, the notion of the Rainbow Bridge (or Rainbow Bridge) has long been widespread - a place in the Underworld where owners and their pets once meet. The authorship of this legend is attributed to the American psychologist Paul Charles Dam, who wrote a poem about the Rainbow Bridge in 1981, and in 1998 a book of the same name. Also named among other people who claim authorship are William N. Britton, author of Legends of the Rainbow Bridge; Wallace Syfe, head of the Lost Pet Association, author of the poem All Pets Go to Heaven.

In Russia, the Rainbow Bridge became famous thanks to the following text:

At the very edge of the sky there is a place called the Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies, especially if it was very loved by someone in this life, it ends up on the Rainbow Bridge. There are endless meadows and hills where our friends can run and play all together. There is an abundance of food, water and sunlight, and there our pets are warm and comfortable.

In this land, all sick and old animals turn into young and full of energy; those who had injuries and injuries become healthy and strong again. Time flies unnoticed for them, if only we remember them in our dreams and dreams. The animals there are happy and satisfied with everything except one - each of them left earlier and left someone very dear to him in this life.

On the Rainbow Bridge, animals run and play carelessly all together, but the day comes when one of them suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His eyes light up with fire, and his body begins to tremble with impatience. Suddenly he leaves his fellows, flies over the emerald green grass, and his legs carry him faster and faster.

He noticed you; and when you and your pet finally meet, you will hug tightly, happy that you have united and will never part again.

He will, stupefied with happiness, lick your face, your hand will again lovingly caress his head, and you will once again look into the devoted eyes of your pet, who left your life for so long, but never left your heart.

Now you can cross the Rainbow Bridge together...

My friend, have you ever dreamed of walking on a rainbow and getting into fairyland? My mood always improves when I see this very beautiful natural phenomenon. Today I will answer your question “How is a rainbow formed?”

A long time ago, people considered the rainbow as the road to Heaven and believed that it was possible to get to the World of the Gods through it.

Now the rainbow has its own scientific explanation. After rain, some droplets hang in the air, never reaching the ground. The rays of the sun fall on the raindrops and, reflecting from them, as if from a mirror, scientifically refracting, become multi-colored.

My friend, have you heard the saying: "Every hunter wants to know where the pheasant sits"? The first letter of each word denotes the order of colors in the amazing and very beautiful natural phenomenon that you learned about today: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Blue, Violet.

The colors of the rainbow were first identified by Newton. True, at first he identified only five colors - red, yellow, green, blue and purple. But later I saw Orange color. However, the number 6 in those days was considered for some reason not very good, and the scientist added a blue tint to the spectrum. Seven is the number equal to the number of notes musical scale, it seemed to Newton very nice. So they left it, although in fact the colors in the rainbow smoothly transition into each other through many intermediate shades.

As far as scientists know, none creature in the world, except for a person, they are not able to see a rainbow. And yet it exists. You can only see a rainbow if you are strictly between the sun (it should be behind you) and the rain (it should be in front of you). Otherwise, you won't see the rainbow!

It always occurs where the sun's rays meet water droplets. For example, at waterfalls, fountains. Or you can make a curtain of drops from a hand sprayer yourself and, standing with your back to the sun, see a rainbow created by your own hands.

Have you noticed that rainbows vary in color saturation? It depends on the size of the droplets: the larger they are, the brighter the rainbow. If a rainbow appears in the morning or in the evening (when the Sun is close to the horizon), then it will be big size if during the day (the luminary stands high) - small.

Rainbows can be observed not only during the day, but also at night, in cirrus clouds and even during fog. And you can see it in its entirety only when you are on an airplane or on a high mountain. That's when it turns out that in fact the rainbow has an absolutely round shape, since it completely prevents you from seeing it earth's surface. And all because a drop that has a spherical shape and is illuminated by a beam of parallel sunlight can only create a circle.

inverted rainbow

Have you ever encountered a rare natural phenomenon - an inverted rainbow? This phenomenon is quite rare. It appears under certain conditions, when cirrus clouds consisting of ice crystals are located in a thin curtain at an altitude of 7-8 kilometers. Sunlight, falling at a certain angle on these crystals, is decomposed into a spectrum and reflected into the atmosphere. The colors in an inverted rainbow are reversed, with purple on top and red on the bottom.

Double Rainbow

We already know that a rainbow in the sky appears from the fact that the rays of the sun penetrate through raindrops, refract and reflect on the other side of the sky in a multi-colored arc. And sometimes Sunshine can build two, three, or even four rainbows in the sky at once. A double rainbow is obtained when a light beam reflects off the inner surface of raindrops twice.

The first rainbow, the inner one, is always brighter than the second, the outer one, and the colors of the arcs on the second rainbow are mirrored and less bright. Seeing a double rainbow is a good omen - this is good luck, wish fulfillment. So if you are lucky enough to see a double rainbow, hurry up to make a wish, and it will surely come true.

Is there a rainbow without rain?

A rainbow can also be observed on a sunny, clear day near waterfalls, fountains, in the garden when watering flowers from a hose, clamping the hose hole with your fingers, creating a mist of water and directing the hose towards the Sun.

I suggest you watch the video and find out what happens if a beam of white light is passed through a glass prism, and who was the first to do such an experiment?

"Why is there a rainbow?"

The material was prepared by Nadezhda Danilova

Editorial response

People from time immemorial have tried to explain the nature of the rainbow. The inhabitants of Ancient Russia believed that the multi-colored stripes in the sky are a shining rocker, with the help of which Lada Perunitsa draws water from the sea-ocean, in order to then irrigate fields and fields with it. Another version was held by the American Indians, who were sure that the rainbow is a ladder leading to another world. Well, the harsh Scandinavians identified the celestial arc with a bridge on which the guardian of the gods Heimdall watches day and night.

AiF.ru tells how it explains the formation of this natural phenomenon modern science, and also shares the secrets of how to become the guardian of the rainbow yourself.

Why does a rainbow appear?

To understand why a rainbow appears, you need to remember what a ray of light is. From the course of school physics it is known that it consists of particles flying at great speed - segments of an electromagnetic wave. Short and long waves differ in color, but all together in a single stream they are perceived by the human eye as white light.

And only when a beam of light "bumps" into a transparent barrier - a drop of water or glass - it breaks up into different colors.

The shortest red electromagnetic waves have the least energy, so they deflect less than others. The longest violet wavelengths, on the contrary, deviate more than others. Thus, most of the colors of the rainbow are located between the red and purple lines.

The human eye distinguishes seven colors - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. But it should be borne in mind that in fact the colors smoothly transition into each other through many intermediate shades.

The inside of a white rainbow can be slightly purple, and the outside a little orange.

How and where does a fiery rainbow appear?

Fire rainbow. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Fire Rainbow predominantly spawns in an area cirrus clouds: small pieces of ice reflect the incident light and literally “light up” the clouds, painting them in different colors.

Can you see a rainbow at night?

Yes it is possible. The light of the Moon, reflected by water particles from rain or a waterfall, forms a color spectrum that is indistinguishable to the eye at night and appears white due to the peculiarities of human vision in poor light conditions. This rainbow is best seen during a full moon.

Lunar rainbow. Photo: Shutterstock.com / Muskoka Stock Photos

How to make a rainbow with your own hands?

You will need: glass, water, sheet of paper.

What to do:

1. Put a faceted glass filled with water to the window where the sun shines from.

2. Put a sheet of paper on the floor near the window so that light falls on it.

3. Moisten the window with hot water.

4. Change the position of the glass and sheet of paper until the rainbow is visible.

You will need: hose with water.

What to do:

1. Take a hose with running water and lightly pinch its “neck” so that splashes appear.

3. Look closely and see a rainbow in the splashes.

How to remember the colors of the rainbow?

There are special phrases that help you remember the sequence of colors in the rainbow. The first letter of each word corresponds to the first letter of the color of the rainbow stripe - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.

Every hunter wants to know where the pheasant is sitting.

Once Jacques the bell ringer broke a lantern with his head.

A mole to a sheep, a giraffe, a bunny stroked old jerseys.

Every designer wants to know where to download photoshop.

Who feels the cruel ringing of the gong of resistance to fatality?

How to predict the weather from a rainbow?

If the spectrum of the rainbow is dominated by red, then you need to wait for a strong wind.

Rainy weather in the coming days will be if you see a double or triple rainbow.

A high rainbow indicates that the weather will be clear, and a low one indicates that it will be rainy.

If more green - it will rain, yellow - good weather, red - wind and drought.

A rainbow in winter is a rarity, it signals the impending frost or snow.

rainbow along the river heavy rain, and across - to clear weather.

The appearance of the rainbow on Saturday promises a rainy next week.

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