Have you ever looked up after a rainstorm and seen a beautiful rainbow stretching across the sky? Let's chat about how they form in this Science with Stevie!
It seems like magic, but it's actually science! A rainbow forms when sunlight and raindrops work together. Sunlight may look white, but it's actually made up of all the colors of the rainbow.
When sunlight enters a raindrop, three things happen:
First, the light slows down and bends as it enters the drop. This is known as refraction. Next, the light bounces off the inside of the raindrop. Then, it bends again and splits into different colors—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
Millions of raindrops are doing this at the same time, and together they create the rainbow we see in the sky!
Here is an interesting fact: A rainbow is actually a full circle, but from the ground we usually only see the top half because the horizon gets in the way.
So, the next time you see a rainbow, remember—you're looking at sunlight being bent, reflected, and separated into all its beautiful colors by tiny drops of water.
#StevieDanielsWX
Email: stevie.daniels@wmar.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/StevieDanielsWX
X: www.twitter.com/StevieDanielsWX
Instagram & TikTok: stevie_daniels_
