Rainbows happen when sunlight shines through water droplets in the air after it rains. The water droplets act like tiny prisms, bending and splitting the light into all the beautiful colors we see, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
Imagine each raindrop is a mini-magic box that turns white sunlight into a rainbow. When you look at a rainbow after rain, it's like millions of these little boxes are working together to show off the colors of light.
Examples
- A rainbow appears after a summer storm when sunlight hits water droplets in the air.
- You see a rainbow on the ground if you're standing in a puddle and looking up at the sky.
- Your dog can sometimes spot a rainbow before you do, it's just another way of seeing color.
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See also
- What Causes a ‘Rainbow’ and Why Do We See It Differently?
- Why Do We See Colors in the Rain?
- What Causes the ‘Shine’ on a Wet Street?
- Why Do We See Colors in the Rainbow?
- What Causes the ‘Shine’ of a Wet Road?
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