Essay On Rainbow

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INTRODUCTION A rainbow is a multi-coloured arc that appears in the sky which is caused by reflection, refraction (bent) and dispersion of light in water droplets. Rainbows appear when sunlight shines through water droplets in the air between angles of about 40 and 42 degrees. The rainbow always appears directly opposite the sun. Light is refracted when moving through a droplet of water, it then is reflected inside the back of the droplet and then once again refracted when leaving the droplet. Rainbows are formed in any airborne water. The main colours which make up a rainbow are: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, the number of colours in a rainbow may differ. The white light splits into different colours when it enters the…show more content…
Experiment B and F, no colours were shown as the hand and the dirty water do not allow the light to pass through. Experiment C and D allows a rainbow to form, but all the colours are not visible to the naked eye. When sunlight passes through a clear clean substance between the angles of about 40 to 42 degrees, rainbows are created. Water creates a prism through which the light travels. DISCUSSION The experiments carried out showed the formation of a rainbow, be it in full colour or a white rainbow as our eyes are not sensitive enough to see all the colours of the rainbow. In experiment F, the dirty water showed that a rainbow cannot be created if the water is not clear for the reflection, refraction and dispersion to take place. In experiment B, the hand does not allow the light to move through, resulting in no rainbow. The experiments can be improved by setting up the experiment when the sun is at its brightest. I have to check that the angle to the sun in all the experiments would have to be the same for all. All liquids used should always be clear and free of any dirt which will make the experiment fail. I could do tests further to see if the variation of the temperature may cause the rainbow to be brighter or
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