• Question: If it only rains in one area of the world then why are rainbows round?

    Asked by to Daren, Lynne, Phillip, Simon on 17 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Daren Fearon

      Daren Fearon answered on 17 Jun 2014:

      Rainbows are an optical phenomenon caused by the bending of light by water in the atmosphere. The different colours of light have different wavelengths so interact differently with the water droplets and end up producing a rainbow (similar to a prism). Only water droplets that are at a certain angle formed between you, the drop and the sun, bend in the right way for you to see the rainbow. The rainbow is curved because the set of all the raindrops that have the right angle between you, the drop, and the sun lie on a cone pointing at the sun with you at one tip.

    • Photo: Phillip Manning

      Phillip Manning answered on 17 Jun 2014:

      I go with Daren’s explanation 🙂

    • Photo: Lynne Thomas

      Lynne Thomas answered on 17 Jun 2014:

      Daren’s explanation is very good. If you look at how a rainbow curves, it does curve the same as the surface of the earth, it comes back down to the earth again whilst you can see it. So it only appears a few miles away from where you are standing! So you can only see it if the rain drops and the sun lined up in the right way from where you are standing.

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