What is a Rainbow? - Rainbow Formation

Rainbows form when the sun is low in the sky and there is water in the air. White light from the sun is split into different colors by water droplets through refraction. As light enters a droplet, it slows down, bends, and separates into colors. The light reflects off the back of the droplet and refracts again as it exits, with different colors bending by different amounts. This bending creates the rainbow's arched shape. Rainbows appear to move away as you approach them because new raindrops create the same light pattern further away.

What two conditions are necessary for a rainbow to form?

Explain how white light is separated into different colors when it passes through water.

What is refraction and how does it relate to the formation of a rainbow?

Describe the bending of light in relation to the colors of the rainbow.

Why can you never get close to a rainbow?