Rainbows are beautiful arcs of color we sometimes see in the sky, and they appear because of sunlight and water! Simply put, we see rainbows when sunlight shines through raindrops.
Here's a kid-friendly explanation:
- Sunlight and Raindrops: Rainbows need both sunlight and water droplets in the air (like after a rain shower).
- Light Bending: When sunlight enters a raindrop, it bends. This bending is called refraction.
- Splitting into Colors: As the light bends, it also splits into the seven colors we see in a rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
- Reflecting Back: The colors then reflect off the back of the raindrop.
- Leaving the Drop: Finally, the colored light comes back out of the raindrop and travels to your eyes!
According to the provided reference, rainbows are "multi-coloured arcs that form in the sky and are formed when sunlight shines through the water." The reference also explains that the light "reflects off the water droplets, bends (called refraction) and splits... into seven colours."
So, we see rainbows because sunlight shines through raindrops, the light bends and separates into different colors, and then those colors travel to our eyes! Isn't science amazing?
