How Does The Science of Rainbows Work?

Rainbows happen when light from the sun bounces off water droplets in the air, like a game of tag between sunlight and raindrops.

Sunlight is like a bunch of tiny colored stickers, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. But they’re all stuck together. When sunlight hits a water droplet, it slows down and bends, just like when you run into a puddle and have to change direction.

Inside the water droplet, the light sticker bunch gets split up. Each color goes its own way because each one bends a little differently, kind of like how your friend might take a different path through the park depending on where they want to go.

Then, after the light leaves the droplet, it speeds back up and keeps bending again as it escapes, just like when you jump out of a puddle and keep running.

Each color goes in a slightly different direction. So if you’re standing in the right spot, with the sun behind you and raindrops in front, each color will reach your eyes from a different angle, making a beautiful rainbow appear in the sky like a colorful bridge!