Why does the rainbow have so many colors?

Answer 1

Rainbows display every color in the visible spectrum of light. When sunlight hits rain droplets, it causes the light to scatter into each of its individual color components (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet). The same thing happens when light shines through a prism.

The rainbow's appearance is caused by dispersion of sunlight as it goes through raindrops. The light is first refracted as it enters the surface of the raindrop, reflected off the back of the drop, and again refracted as it leaves the drop. The overall effect is that the incoming light is reflected back over a wide range of angles with the most intense light at an angle of 40°–42°. The angle is independent of the size of the drop, but does depend on its refractive index. Seawater has a higher refractive index than rain water, so the radius of a 'rain' bow in sea spray is smaller than a true rainbow. This is visible to the naked eye by a misalignment of these bows. The amount by which light is refracted depends upon its wavelength, and hence its colour. Blue light (shorter wavelength) is refracted at a greater angle than red light, but because the area of the back of the droplet has a focal point inside the droplet, the spectrum crosses itself, and therefore the red light appears higher in the sky, and forms the outer colour of the rainbow. Contrary to popular belief, the light at the back of the raindrop does not undergo total internal reflection and some light does emerge from the back. However, light coming out the back of the raindrop does not create a rainbow between the observer and the sun because spectra emitted from the back of the raindrop do not have a maximum of intensity, as the other visible rainbows do, and thus the colours blend together rather than forming a rainbow.

Answer 2

The appealing colours on a bubble are caused by the thickness of the bubble wall approaching the thickness of the (1/2?)wavelength of light.

[Similar to Newton's Rings. And the rainbow film of oil on water.]

When the bubble wall gets thinner than this, completely transparent patches appear on the surface - and your bubble has not long to go.

Answer 3

Well light reflects off of water crystals in the sky because the water crystals are left from the rain that's why a rainbow only appears after rain and there are so many colors in a rainbow is because of the reflections from the usually invisible colors ultraviolet and inferred shooting from the sun bouncing off of the water crystals.

Answer 4

because the sun reflects on them and then you get a lot of colours

Answer 5

Because the bubbles have soap and reflect the light by dividing it into each color of the spectrum.

Answer 6

It has to do with light refraction.

When white light shines on the bubble, the reflected waves interfere with each other producing rainbow fringes.

Answer 7

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