Higher the Sun Lower the Rainbow

Rainbows appear when bright sunshine is refracted, reflected and dispersed in raindrops in the presence of an observer.

Rainbows are less common around midday because the higher the Sun is in the sky the lower the rainbow. If the Sun is too high, then by the time raindrops are in the right position to form a rainbow they are lost in the landscape.

Yes! A rainbow is an optical effect, a trick of the light, caused by the behaviour of light waves travelling through transparent water droplets towards an observer.drops.

The axis of a rainbow is an imaginary straight line that passes through the Sun, the eyes of an observer and the anti-solar point – the geometric centre of a rainbow.

Yes! In ideal conditions, atmospheric rainbows produce a continuous spectrum of colours inclusive of all wavelengths of the visible spectrum.

Vision, the human visual system, is a complex interplay between various components of the eye, including the cornea, pupil, lens, iris, retina, and optic nerve. It collaborates to capture, focus, and convert light into electrical signals that are transmitted to the brain for visual processing and interpretation.

• Vision begins when light emitted or reflected by an object or scene enters our eyes through the cornea, pupil, and lens.
• The cornea and the lens work together to concentrate and focus light onto the retina, which is the photosensitive layer of cells at the back of the eyeball.
• The iris, located between the cornea and the lens, regulates the amount of light reaching the retina. It also determines eye colour and controls the size of the pupil.
• The retina plays a vital role in converting differences in the wavelength and brightness of incoming light into electrical signals.
• The optic nerve, which exits at the back of the eye, carries these signals to the visual processing areas of the brain.

The angle of reflection measures the angle at which reflected light bounces off a surface.

• The angle of reflection is measured between a ray of light which has been reflected off a surface and an imaginary line called the normal.
• See this diagram for an explanation: Reflection of a ray of light
• In optics, the normal is a line drawn on a ray diagram perpendicular to, so at a right angle to (90⁰), the boundary between two media.
• If the boundary between the media is curved then the normal is drawn perpendicular to the boundary.

The angle of refraction measures the angle to which light bends as it passes across the boundary between different media.

• The angle of refraction is measured between a ray of light and an imaginary line called the normal.
• In optics, the normal is a line drawn on a ray diagram perpendicular to, so at a right angle to (90⁰), the boundary between two media.
• See this diagram for an explanation: Refraction of a ray of light
• If the boundary between the media is curved, the normal is drawn perpendicular to the boundary.

The visible spectrum is the range of wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum that correspond with all the different colours we see in the world.

• As light travels through the air it is invisible to our eyes.
• Human beings don’t see wavelengths of light, but they do see the spectral colours that correspond with each wavelength and colours produced when different wavelengths are combined.
• The visible spectrum includes all the spectral colours between red and violet and each is produced by a single wavelength.
• The visible spectrum is often divided into named colours, though any division of this kind is somewhat arbitrary.
• Traditional colours referred to in English include red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.

The angle of incidence measures the angle at which incoming light strikes a surface.

• The angle of incidence is measured between a ray of incoming light and an imaginary line called the normal.
• See this diagram for an explanation: Reflection of a ray of light
• In optics, the normal is a line drawn on a ray diagram perpendicular to, so at a right angle to (90⁰), the boundary between two media.
• If the boundary between the media is curved, then the normal is drawn at a tangent to the boundary.

• Colour vision is the human ability to distinguish between objects based on the wavelengths of the light they emit, reflect or transmit. The human eye and brain together translate light into colour.
• Colour is not a property of electromagnetic radiation, but a feature of visual perception.
• The human eye, and so human perception, is tuned to the range of wavelengths of light that make up the visible spectrum and so to the corresponding spectral colours between red and violet.
• Light, however, is rarely of a single wavelength, so an observer will usually be exposed to a spread of different wavelengths of light or a mixture of wavelengths from different areas of the spectrum.
• An observer’s perception of colour is a subjective process as the eyes and brain respond together to stimuli produced when incoming light reacts with light-sensitive cells within the retina at the back of the eye.
• The perception of colour can be influenced by various factors, such as lighting conditions, surrounding colours, and individual differences in colour perception.

Visible light refers to the range of wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation that is perceived as colour by human observers. While the range of visible light is generally considered to be 400-700 nm, the exact range of colours perceptible can vary slightly between individuals.

• Visible light is one form of electromagnetic radiation. Other forms of electromagnetic radiation include radio waves, microwaves, infrared, ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays. Visible light ranges from approximately 400 nanometres (nm) for violet to 700 nm for red.
• A human observer perceives visible light as a combination of all the spectral colours between red and violet, as well as a vast range of other colours produced from the blending of different wavelengths in varying proportions.