Picture of the day - July 15, 2005

Rainbow After A Storm

A rainbow after a storm
Photo courtesy of FreeStockPhotos.com. 

Ever since the conclusion of the great flood, God has graced us with the unique beauty of rainbows. Like most people, I always enjoy seeing a rainbow pop out of the clouds after a summer rainstorm...a signal that although a few drops might still be falling, the worst is over. Rainbows are rare and fleeting, usually hanging around just long enough to lift the mood a bit.

Today's picture features a beautiful rainbow against the backdrop of the
The rainbow is one of nature's most interesting phenomena, and one that most children have created in the classroom with a prism. Actually, the science of rainbow creation is really quite simple:

When light travels from one shaped medium to another (triangular glass to air in the case of a prism), it refracts (bends). Different colors of light have different wavelengths which exit the first medium at different speeds. As a result, the colors which had been combined to form white light are separated and we see them individually.

Nature's rainbows occur the same way, except the medium refracting the light is a collection of water droplets in the air instead of glass. And the next time you see a rainbow, keep this in mind: you'll be looking more or less toward the rain, and the sun will more or less be behind you - every time!
 

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