In fact, the arc familiar to the human eye is only part of a multi-colored circle. This natural phenomenon can only be seen in its entirety from an airplane, and even then only to a sufficient degree.

The first studies of the shape of the rainbow were carried out by the French philosopher and mathematician Rene Descartes back in the 17th century. To do this, the scientist used a glass ball filled with water, which made it possible to imagine how a sunbeam is reflected in a raindrop, refracting and thereby becoming visible.

The shape of a rainbow is determined by the shape of the water droplets in which the light is refracted. sunlight. And water droplets are more or less spherical (round). Passing through a drop and refracting in it, a beam of white sun rays transformed into a series of colored funnels inserted one inside the other, facing the observer. The outer funnel is red, orange, yellow are inserted into it, then green, etc., ending with the inner violet. Thus, each individual drop forms a whole rainbow.

Of course, a 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. The rainbow that we see in the sky is formed by myriads of drops. Each drop creates a series of nested colored funnels (or cones). But from an individual drop only one colored ray hits the rainbow. The observer's eye is the common point at which the colored rays from many drops intersect. For example, all red rays coming out of different drops, but at the same angle and entering the observer's eye, form a red arc of the rainbow. All orange and other colored rays also form arcs. That's why the rainbow is round.

Two people standing next to each other see their own rainbow! Because at every moment a rainbow is formed by the refraction of the sun's rays in more and more drops. Raindrops are falling. The place of the fallen drop is taken by another and manages to send its colored rays into the rainbow, followed by the next one and so on.

Visible rainbow changes

The type of rainbow - the width of the arcs, the presence, location and brightness of individual color tones, the position of additional arcs - very much depend on the size of the raindrops. The larger the raindrops, the narrower and brighter the rainbow turns out. Large drops are characterized by the presence of a rich red color in the main rainbow. Numerous additional arcs also have bright colors and are directly adjacent to the main rainbows, without gaps. The smaller the droplets, the wider and fainter the rainbow becomes, with an orange or yellow edge. The additional arcs are further apart from each other and from the main rainbows. Thus, by the appearance of the rainbow one can approximately estimate the size of the raindrops that formed this rainbow.

The appearance of the rainbow also depends on the shape of the drops. When falling in the air, large drops flatten and lose their sphericity. The stronger the flattening of the drops, the smaller the radius of the rainbow they form.

Proverb about the hunter

Newton also attributed the conventional division of the rainbow into 7 colors: the scientist looked for a correspondence between the colors of the spectrum and the tones of the musical scale. Any child knows a simple phrase that allows you not to confuse the number and sequence of rainbow stripes: Every Hunter Wants to Know Where the Pheasant Sits:

1. Red
2. Orange
3. Yellow
4. Green
5. Blue
6. Blue
7. Violet.

Myths and legends about the rainbow

The rainbow is an impressive celestial phenomenon, its appearance along with the first spring rains is a sign of the rebirth of nature, the blessed union of earth and sky, and the luxurious colors with which the rainbow shines, in the imagination of the ancestors, were the precious attire in which the heavenly deity is clothed. Rainbows have captivated people's imaginations for a long time. Legends were made about her, amazing properties were attributed to her.

• In Scandinavian mythology, the rainbow is the Bifrost bridge connecting Midgard (the world of people) and Asgard (the world of the gods); the red stripe of the rainbow is an eternal flame, which is harmless to the Aesir, but will burn any mortal who tries to climb the bridge. The Bifrost is guarded by As Heimdall.
• In ancient Indian mythology - the bow of Indra, the god of thunder and lightning.
• IN ancient greek mythology- the road of Iris, the messenger between the world of gods and people.
• In Armenian mythology, the rainbow is the belt of Tyre (originally the god of the sun, then the god of writing, arts and sciences).
• According to Slavic beliefs, the rainbow drinks water from lakes, rivers and seas, which then rains. Also, according to Slavic beliefs, the appearance of a rainbow foreshadowed misfortune, and if a person manages to pass under a rainbow, then the man will become a woman, and the woman will become a man.
• According to the beliefs of many African peoples, in those places where the rainbow touches the ground, you can find a treasure ( gems, cowrie shells or beads).
• In Australian Aboriginal mythology, the Rainbow Serpent is considered the patron saint of water, rain and shamans.
  The Irish leprechaun hides a pot of gold in the place where the rainbow touched the ground.
• In the Bible, the rainbow appeared after the global flood as a symbol of forgiveness of humanity, the union of God and humanity.
• The rainbow is an image of peaceful heavenly fire, in contrast to lightning as an expression of the wrath of heavenly forces. The appearance of a rainbow after a thunderstorm, against the backdrop of peaceful nature, together with the sun, made it possible to interpret it as a symbol of peace.
• According to a common interpretation, the red color of the rainbow represents the wrath of God, yellow – generosity, green – hope, blue – pacification of natural forces, purple – greatness.

conclusions

In fact, a rainbow would look like a circle if the landscape didn't interfere with it. The center of this circle lies on a straight line passing through you (the observer) from the Sun (located behind you). Accordingly, the lower you are, the less of the circle is visible above the Earth's surface. And, for example, from an airplane you can see the entire circumference of the rainbow. You can easily find such photos on the Internet by searching for “rainbow from an airplane.”

Let's start with the fact that a rainbow is not some kind of object that appears somewhere in space, as many still think, and this is not at all the machinations of aliens. A rainbow is not an object at all, but an optical phenomenon. This phenomenon occurs due to the refraction of light rays in drops of water, and all this occurs exclusively during rain. That is, a rainbow is not an object at all, but just a play of light. But what beautiful game, need to say!

Of course, since ancient times, people have tried to explain the rainbow. In Africa, for example, they believed that the rainbow was a huge snake that periodically crawled out of oblivion to carry out its dark deeds. However, intelligible explanations regarding this optical miracle could only be given towards the end of the seventeenth century. Then the famous Rene Descartes lived little by little. It was he who was first able to simulate the refraction of rays in a water drop. In his studies, Descartes used a glass ball filled with water. However, he could not fully explain the secret of the rainbow. But Newton, who replaced this very ball with a prism, managed to decompose a ray of light into a spectrum.

Simply put, the appearance of a rainbow can be deduced into the following formula: light passing through raindrops is refracted. And it is refracted because water has a higher density than air. White color, as is known, consists of seven primary colors. It is quite clear that all colors have different wavelengths. And this is where the whole secret lies. When a ray of sunlight passes through a drop of water, it refracts each wave differently.

Now that we know how a rainbow appears, we can talk about its shape. In fact, a rainbow is not a semicircle, but a circle. We just don’t see it in full, because the center of the rainbow’s circle lies on the same straight line with our eyes. For example, from an airplane you can see the full, round rainbow, although this happens extremely rarely, because on airplanes they usually look at their beautiful neighbors, or eat hamburgers while playing Angry Birds. So why is a rainbow shaped like a semicircle? This is because the raindrops that form a rainbow are clumps of water with a rounded surface. The light coming out of this very drop reflects its surface. That's the whole secret.

It is interesting to note that two people standing next to each other and observing a rainbow each see it differently! All this is due to the fact that at each individual moment of viewing, a rainbow is constantly formed in new drops of water. That is, one drop falls, and another appears in its place. Also, the type and color of the rainbow depends on the size of the water droplets. The larger the raindrops, the brighter the rainbow will be. The most saturated color in the rainbow is red. If the droplets are small, the rainbow will be wider with a pronounced orange color at the edge. It must be said that we perceive the longest wave of light as red, and the shortest as violet. This applies not only to cases of observing a rainbow, but to everything in general. That is, you can now intelligently comment on the condition, size and color of the rainbow, as well as all other objects visible to the human eye.

Reverse rainbow

A very rare optical phenomenon. Such a rainbow appears only when several conditions are met. In the sky at an altitude of 7-8 km there should be a thin curtain of cirrus clouds consisting of ice crystals, and sunlight should fall on them at a certain angle in order to be decomposed into a spectrum and reflected into the atmosphere. The colors in an upside down rainbow are also arranged in reverse: purple is at the top and red is at the bottom.

Moon Rainbow

The moonbow phenomenon is observed in only a few places in the world. Moonbows are created using sunlight reflected from the moon. Since this light is much weaker than direct sunlight, to the human eye a lunar rainbow usually appears just white, but a camera with a long exposure can capture it in color.

Fire Rainbow

A fire rainbow is one of the types of halo, a relatively rare optical effect in the atmosphere, expressed in the appearance of a horizontal rainbow.

Round rainbow

Rainbow - this is a ring. Usually we don't see the lower part of it. Bottom part The Earth prevents you from seeing rainbows. In order to see a round rainbow, you must have illuminated drops of water below you.This can be seen from an airplane, looking at the rain from above.

In fact, the arc familiar to the human eye is only part of a multi-colored circle. This natural phenomenon can only be seen in its entirety from an airplane, and even then only to a sufficient degree.

The first studies of the shape of the rainbow were carried out by the French philosopher and mathematician Rene Descartes back in the 17th century. To do this, the scientist used a glass ball filled with water, which made it possible to imagine how a sunbeam is reflected in a raindrop, refracting and thereby becoming visible.

The shape of a rainbow is determined by the shape of the water droplets in which sunlight is refracted. And water droplets are more or less spherical (round). Passing through the drop and being refracted in it, a beam of white sunlight is transformed into a series of colored funnels, inserted one into the other, facing the observer. The outer funnel is red, orange, yellow are inserted into it, then green, etc., ending with the inner violet. Thus, each individual drop forms a whole rainbow.

Of course, a 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. The rainbow that we see in the sky is formed by myriads of drops. Each drop creates a series of nested colored funnels (or cones). But from an individual drop only one colored ray hits the rainbow. The observer's eye is the common point at which the colored rays from many drops intersect. For example, all red rays coming out of different drops, but at the same angle and entering the observer's eye, form a red arc of the rainbow. All orange and other colored rays also form arcs. That's why the rainbow is round.

Two people standing next to each other see their own rainbow! Because at every moment a rainbow is formed by the refraction of the sun's rays in more and more drops. Raindrops are falling. The place of the fallen drop is taken by another and manages to send its colored rays into the rainbow, followed by the next one and so on.

Visible rainbow changes

The type of rainbow - the width of the arcs, the presence, location and brightness of individual color tones, the position of additional arcs - very much depend on the size of the raindrops. The larger the raindrops, the narrower and brighter the rainbow turns out. Large drops are characterized by the presence of a rich red color in the main rainbow. Numerous additional arcs also have bright colors and are directly adjacent to the main rainbows, without gaps. The smaller the droplets, the wider and fainter the rainbow becomes, with an orange or yellow edge. The additional arcs are further apart from each other and from the main rainbows. Thus, by the appearance of the rainbow one can approximately estimate the size of the raindrops that formed this rainbow.

The appearance of the rainbow also depends on the shape of the drops. When falling in the air, large drops flatten and lose their sphericity. The stronger the flattening of the drops, the smaller the radius of the rainbow they form.

Proverb about the hunter

Newton also attributed the conventional division of the rainbow into 7 colors: the scientist looked for a correspondence between the colors of the spectrum and the tones of the musical scale. Any child knows a simple phrase that allows you not to confuse the number and sequence of rainbow stripes: Every Hunter Wants to Know Where the Pheasant Sits:

1. Red
2. Orange
3. Yellow
4. Green
5. Blue
6. Blue
7. Violet.

Myths and legends about the rainbow

The rainbow is an impressive celestial phenomenon, its appearance along with the first spring rains is a sign of the rebirth of nature, the blessed union of earth and sky, and the luxurious colors with which the rainbow shines, in the imagination of the ancestors, were the precious attire in which the heavenly deity is clothed. Rainbows have captivated people's imaginations for a long time. Legends were made about her, amazing properties were attributed to her.

• In Scandinavian mythology, the rainbow is the Bifrost bridge connecting Midgard (the world of people) and Asgard (the world of the gods); the red stripe of the rainbow is an eternal flame, which is harmless to the Aesir, but will burn any mortal who tries to climb the bridge. The Bifrost is guarded by As Heimdall.
• In ancient Indian mythology - the bow of Indra, the god of thunder and lightning.
• In ancient Greek mythology - the road of Iris, the messenger between the world of gods and people.
• In Armenian mythology, the rainbow is the belt of Tyre (originally the god of the sun, then the god of writing, arts and sciences).
• According to Slavic beliefs, the rainbow drinks water from lakes, rivers and seas, which then rains. Also, according to Slavic beliefs, the appearance of a rainbow foreshadowed misfortune, and if a person manages to pass under a rainbow, then the man will become a woman, and the woman will become a man.
• According to the beliefs of many African peoples, in those places where the rainbow touches the ground, you can find treasure (gems, cowrie shells or beads).
• In Australian Aboriginal mythology, the Rainbow Serpent is considered the patron saint of water, rain and shamans.
  The Irish leprechaun hides a pot of gold in the place where the rainbow touched the ground.
• In the Bible, the rainbow appeared after the global flood as a symbol of forgiveness of humanity, the union of God and humanity.
• The rainbow is an image of peaceful heavenly fire, in contrast to lightning as an expression of the wrath of heavenly forces. The appearance of a rainbow after a thunderstorm, against the backdrop of peaceful nature, together with the sun, made it possible to interpret it as a symbol of peace.
• According to a common interpretation, the red color of the rainbow represents the wrath of God, yellow – generosity, green – hope, blue – pacification of natural forces, purple – greatness.

conclusions

In fact, a rainbow would look like a circle if the landscape didn't interfere with it. The center of this circle lies on a straight line passing through you (the observer) from the Sun (located behind you). Accordingly, the lower you are, the less of the circle is visible above the Earth's surface. And, for example, from an airplane you can see the entire circumference of the rainbow. You can easily find such photos on the Internet by searching for “rainbow from an airplane.”

Why is the rainbow semicircular? People have been asking this question for a long time. In some African myths, a rainbow is a snake that envelops the Earth in a ring. But now we know that a rainbow is an optical phenomenon - the result of the refraction of light rays in water droplets during rain. But why do we see a rainbow in the form of an arc, and not, for example, in the form of a vertical stripe of color?

The shape of a rainbow is determined by the shape of the water droplets in which sunlight is refracted. And water droplets are more or less spherical (round). Passing through the drop and being refracted in it, a beam of white sunlight is transformed into a series of colored funnels, inserted one into the other, facing the observer. The outer funnel is red, orange, yellow are inserted into it, then green, etc., ending with the inner violet. Thus, each individual drop forms a whole rainbow.

Of course, a 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. The rainbow that we see in the sky is formed by myriads of drops. Each drop creates a series of nested colored funnels (or cones). But from an individual drop only one colored ray hits the rainbow. The observer's eye is the common point at which the colored rays from many drops intersect. For example, all red rays coming out of different drops, but at the same angle and entering the observer's eye, form a red arc of the rainbow. All orange and other colored rays also form arcs. That's why the rainbow is round.

Two people standing next to each other see their own rainbow! Because at every moment a rainbow is formed by the refraction of the sun's rays in more and more drops. Raindrops are falling. The place of the fallen drop is taken by another and manages to send its colored rays into the rainbow, followed by the next one and so on.

The appearance of the rainbow - the width of the arcs, the presence, location and brightness of individual color tones, the position of additional arcs - very much depend on the size of the raindrops. The larger the raindrops, the narrower and brighter the rainbow turns out. Large drops are characterized by the presence of a rich red color in the main rainbow. Numerous additional arcs also have bright colors and are directly adjacent to the main rainbows, without gaps. The smaller the droplets, the wider and fainter the rainbow becomes, with an orange or yellow edge. The additional arcs are further apart from each other and from the main rainbows. Thus, by the appearance of the rainbow one can approximately estimate the size of the raindrops that formed this rainbow.

The appearance of the rainbow also depends on the shape of the drops. When falling in the air, large drops flatten and lose their sphericity. The stronger the flattening of the drops, the smaller the radius of the rainbow they form.

We are used to seeing a rainbow as an arc. In fact, this arc is only part of a multi-colored circle. This natural phenomenon can only be observed in its entirety high altitude, for example, from an airplane.

There is a group of optical phenomena called halo. They are caused by the refraction of light rays by tiny ice crystals in cirrus clouds and fogs. Most often, halos form around the Sun or Moon. Here is an example of such a phenomenon - a spherical rainbow around the Sun: