After the storm comes the rainbow . . .
What causes rainbows? The cause of rainbows was discovered by the German monk Theodoric in 1304. He observed sunlight as it passed through a water-filled globe, and documented the reflection and refraction processes, which similarly happens when sunlight shines through rain drops.
“A rainbow occurs when it is raining in one part of the sky and sunny in another.” -Author Unknown
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In the seventeenth century, scientist René Descartes (1596 - 1650) investigated interactions between light and water, and scientist Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727) determined that white sunlight is a combination of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet light - the colors that make up a rainbow. The wondrous apparitions called rainbows are still objects of fascination to humans.
Sunlight is made of the colors of the rainbow. When the colors are mixed together, it is called white light. White light is the light we commonly see every day.
When all sunlight moves through the air in the same direction, we see white light. When sunlight travels through a raindrop, the colors that the white light is made of separate, creating a rainbow.
Are rainbows natural prisms? What we call rainbows are the visible colors, and the millions of tiny raindrops are each individual natural prisms through which ‘white’ sunlight passes to separate and become the ‘colors of the rainbow.’ Every one of the tiny raindrops makes its own tiny rainbow, but it takes millions of raindrops to make enough color for us to be able to see a rainbow with our eyes.
Anyone can make a rainbow by standing with their back to the Sun and taking a water hose and spraying it in front of them, being sure to keep the Sun behind them. They may also be able to make a rainbow with a spray-nozzle bottle filled with water. Spray water into the air, and watch a rainbow form!
“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta be willing to put up with the rain.” -Dolly Parton (Dolly Rebecca Parton (born 1946))
What causes rainbows? The cause of rainbows was discovered by the German monk Theodoric in 1304. He observed sunlight as it passed through a water-filled globe, and documented the reflection and refraction processes, which similarly happens when sunlight shines through rain drops.
“A rainbow occurs when it is raining in one part of the sky and sunny in another.” -Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read Weather And Climates Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
In the seventeenth century, scientist René Descartes (1596 - 1650) investigated interactions between light and water, and scientist Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727) determined that white sunlight is a combination of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet light - the colors that make up a rainbow. The wondrous apparitions called rainbows are still objects of fascination to humans.
Sunlight is made of the colors of the rainbow. When the colors are mixed together, it is called white light. White light is the light we commonly see every day.
When all sunlight moves through the air in the same direction, we see white light. When sunlight travels through a raindrop, the colors that the white light is made of separate, creating a rainbow.
Are rainbows natural prisms? What we call rainbows are the visible colors, and the millions of tiny raindrops are each individual natural prisms through which ‘white’ sunlight passes to separate and become the ‘colors of the rainbow.’ Every one of the tiny raindrops makes its own tiny rainbow, but it takes millions of raindrops to make enough color for us to be able to see a rainbow with our eyes.
Anyone can make a rainbow by standing with their back to the Sun and taking a water hose and spraying it in front of them, being sure to keep the Sun behind them. They may also be able to make a rainbow with a spray-nozzle bottle filled with water. Spray water into the air, and watch a rainbow form!
“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta be willing to put up with the rain.” -Dolly Parton (Dolly Rebecca Parton (born 1946))
“Don’t miss all the beautiful colors of the rainbow looking for that pot of gold.” -Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read Life And Living Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read Life And Living Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
Rainbow Song
Red and yellow and pink and green,
Purple and orange and blue.
I can sing a rainbow,
Sing a rainbow,
And you can sing one too!
See with your eyes,
See with your eyes,
And sing everything you see.
You can sing a rainbow,
Sing a rainbow,
Just sing along with me.
Red and yellow and pink and green,
Purple and orange and blue.
You can sing a rainbow,
Sing a rainbow,
And now you’ve sung a rainbow too!
By Author Unknown
Red and yellow and pink and green,
Purple and orange and blue.
I can sing a rainbow,
Sing a rainbow,
And you can sing one too!
See with your eyes,
See with your eyes,
And sing everything you see.
You can sing a rainbow,
Sing a rainbow,
Just sing along with me.
Red and yellow and pink and green,
Purple and orange and blue.
You can sing a rainbow,
Sing a rainbow,
And now you’ve sung a rainbow too!
By Author Unknown
“You’ll never find a rainbow if you’re always looking down.” -Author Unknown
Scientifically explained, a rainbow is an arc of spectral colors that appears in the sky opposite the Sun as a result of refractive dispersion of sunlight in drops of rain.
“It takes both sunshine and rain to make a rainbow.” -Author Unknown
“Rainbows apologize for angry skies.” -Sylvia Voirol (Sylvia A. Voirol (1944 - 2003))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read Anger And Rage Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
Scientifically explained, a rainbow is an arc of spectral colors that appears in the sky opposite the Sun as a result of refractive dispersion of sunlight in drops of rain.
“It takes both sunshine and rain to make a rainbow.” -Author Unknown
“Rainbows apologize for angry skies.” -Sylvia Voirol (Sylvia A. Voirol (1944 - 2003))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read Anger And Rage Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
Image attribution: Double Rainbow Stock photos by Vecteezy.
Sometimes sunlight is reflected twice inside a raindrop. When this occurs, a secondary rainbow, or a double rainbow, is created. The colors of a secondary or double rainbow are in opposite order of the primary or first rainbow. Violet will show at the top of a secondary rainbow rather than red.
“Whenever there was a rainy day there might be a rainbow. It came by the same laws by which everything else comes in the world.” -Charles Kingsley (1819 - 1875): “The Works of Charles Kingsley” (1885), Volume 22, page 424, Sermon 42: ‘God’s Covenants’
Are all rainbows double-rainbows? In theory, all rainbows are double rainbows, but because the secondary bow is fainter than the primary, it may be too weak to spot by casual observers. Secondary rainbows are caused by a double reflection of sunlight inside the water droplets.
“Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life.” -George Gordon Byron (George Gordon Noel Byron (also known as Lord Byron (1788 - 1824)))
“Chasing the rainbow is far more rewarding than finding the pot of gold.” -Erin Wright
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read Inspiration And Motivation Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
When chasing rainbows, there are a few things to keep in mind. For instance, in order to see a rainbow, you must have your back to the Sun. If you face another direction, you will not be able to see it. When standing on the Earth’s surface, rainbows can be seen only in the morning or late afternoon, when the Sun is at less than 40 degrees above the horizon.
When the Sun is low, rainbows will be higher than the Sun in the sky, and when the Sun is high, rainbows will be lower than the Sun in the sky.
On the ground, we see only a semi-circle or arc-shaped rainbow, but from high up, such as when viewed from an airplane, a rainbow appears as a complete circle.
No two people see the same rainbow. A person standing next to you is standing in a slightly different spot and will see the rainbow in a slightly different place. The rainbow may look the same but is different because the person sees different raindrops from a slightly different position and angle.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read Differences And Individuality Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
“Whenever there was a rainy day there might be a rainbow. It came by the same laws by which everything else comes in the world.” -Charles Kingsley (1819 - 1875): “The Works of Charles Kingsley” (1885), Volume 22, page 424, Sermon 42: ‘God’s Covenants’
Are all rainbows double-rainbows? In theory, all rainbows are double rainbows, but because the secondary bow is fainter than the primary, it may be too weak to spot by casual observers. Secondary rainbows are caused by a double reflection of sunlight inside the water droplets.
“Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life.” -George Gordon Byron (George Gordon Noel Byron (also known as Lord Byron (1788 - 1824)))
“Chasing the rainbow is far more rewarding than finding the pot of gold.” -Erin Wright
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read Inspiration And Motivation Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
When chasing rainbows, there are a few things to keep in mind. For instance, in order to see a rainbow, you must have your back to the Sun. If you face another direction, you will not be able to see it. When standing on the Earth’s surface, rainbows can be seen only in the morning or late afternoon, when the Sun is at less than 40 degrees above the horizon.
When the Sun is low, rainbows will be higher than the Sun in the sky, and when the Sun is high, rainbows will be lower than the Sun in the sky.
On the ground, we see only a semi-circle or arc-shaped rainbow, but from high up, such as when viewed from an airplane, a rainbow appears as a complete circle.
No two people see the same rainbow. A person standing next to you is standing in a slightly different spot and will see the rainbow in a slightly different place. The rainbow may look the same but is different because the person sees different raindrops from a slightly different position and angle.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read Differences And Individuality Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
Rainbows are rare in winter and in cold climates, because water in the air usually freezes into tiny ice crystals called snowflakes, rather than becoming raindrops. However, during cold weather, upside down rainbows, also known as sun smiles or circumzenithal arcs, occasionally form when sunlight reflects through ice crystals that are suspended, or floating, in the atmosphere.
For those of you who are always chasing rainbows, did you know you can never get to the end of a rainbow, because when you move, the rainbow moves too?
If I traveled to the end of the rainbow
As Dame Fortune did intend,
Murphy would be there to tell me
The pot’s at the other end.
-Bert Whitney
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read Chance And Luck Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
We cannot touch rainbows, because if we attempt to move close enough to touch them, they either move or become no longer visible to us. Thus, the pot of gold said to be at the end of a rainbow is an eternally elusive object, forever and always just beyond reach.
Eliot: In addition to a pot of gold, what else can be found at the end of a rainbow?
Eloise: The letter ‘w.’
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“I do set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.” -Author Unknown: “The Bible” (NKJV), ‘Genesis,’ chapter 9, verse 13
Earth is the only planet in our solar system on which rainbows are possible.
It is believed that rainbows got their name from their shape. Rainbow arcs look similar to a bow for shooting arrows. People also noticed that this colorful arc would only form when it was raining, so they called them rainbows.
Look up to the sky
You’ll never find rainbows
If you’re looking down.
-Charlie Chaplin (Charles Spencer ‘Charlie’ Chaplin (1889 - 1977)): “Swing High Little Girl,” opening song written and sung by Chaplin for the 1969 re-release of “The Circus” (1928)
For those of you who are always chasing rainbows, did you know you can never get to the end of a rainbow, because when you move, the rainbow moves too?
If I traveled to the end of the rainbow
As Dame Fortune did intend,
Murphy would be there to tell me
The pot’s at the other end.
-Bert Whitney
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read Chance And Luck Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
We cannot touch rainbows, because if we attempt to move close enough to touch them, they either move or become no longer visible to us. Thus, the pot of gold said to be at the end of a rainbow is an eternally elusive object, forever and always just beyond reach.
Eliot: In addition to a pot of gold, what else can be found at the end of a rainbow?
Eloise: The letter ‘w.’
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read The Alphabet And Letters Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
“I do set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.” -Author Unknown: “The Bible” (NKJV), ‘Genesis,’ chapter 9, verse 13
Earth is the only planet in our solar system on which rainbows are possible.
It is believed that rainbows got their name from their shape. Rainbow arcs look similar to a bow for shooting arrows. People also noticed that this colorful arc would only form when it was raining, so they called them rainbows.
Look up to the sky
You’ll never find rainbows
If you’re looking down.
-Charlie Chaplin (Charles Spencer ‘Charlie’ Chaplin (1889 - 1977)): “Swing High Little Girl,” opening song written and sung by Chaplin for the 1969 re-release of “The Circus” (1928)
What is a night rainbow? Moonbows, or lunar rainbows, occur when the Moon’s light reflects through raindrops. Night rainbows are rare because the Moon’s light is usually not bright enough for a rainbow to appear.
Rainbows
Rainbows appear after mighty storms,
when things look their very worst.
Just when the skies are darkest gray,
look for the rainbow first.
The rainbow is a sign of God’s promise,
that He will guide us
through all our troubles,
no matter what their form.
When you feel battered by life’s storms,
and you are filled with doubt and dismay;
just remember God’s rainbow is coming,
it’s only a prayer away.
By B. J. Morbitzer
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read Adversities And Persevering Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
Rainbows appear after mighty storms,
when things look their very worst.
Just when the skies are darkest gray,
look for the rainbow first.
The rainbow is a sign of God’s promise,
that He will guide us
through all our troubles,
no matter what their form.
When you feel battered by life’s storms,
and you are filled with doubt and dismay;
just remember God’s rainbow is coming,
it’s only a prayer away.
By B. J. Morbitzer
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read Adversities And Persevering Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
“Count your rainbows, not your thunderstorms.” -Alyssa Knight, age 12
Rainbows are more common in warm tropical locations and near waterfalls, where the water content of the air is higher, especially as a mist or a fine, light rain.
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“There can be no rainbow without a cloud and a storm.” -John Heyl Vincent (1832 - 1920)
Riddle: How did the rainbow know it was lost?
Solution: It was out on a clear day.
Rainbows are more common in warm tropical locations and near waterfalls, where the water content of the air is higher, especially as a mist or a fine, light rain.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read Geography Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
“There can be no rainbow without a cloud and a storm.” -John Heyl Vincent (1832 - 1920)
Riddle: How did the rainbow know it was lost?
Solution: It was out on a clear day.
Sunlight shining through water droplets in clouds or mists, creating rainbow-like colors, is called cloud iridescence.
Rainbow To Windward
Rainbow to windward,
Foul fall the day.
Rainbow to leeward,
Rain runs away.
By Author Unknown: weather lore for sailors
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read Ships And Sailors Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
If there are rainbows and moonbows, are there starbows? Starbows are a hypothetical visual phenomenon, in which passengers on a fast-moving spaceship would see a rainbow-like band of stars. Stars ahead would appear blue-shifted, and stars behind would appear red-shifted, with a ‘rainbow’ of colors in between.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read Stars And Astronomy Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
Fun fact: The word ‘rainbow’ has 7 letters in it, and a rainbow has 7 colors in it.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read Fun Facts And Trivia Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
Rainbows were called ‘bows of promise’ in traditional Victorian English.
“We may run, walk, stumble, drive, or fly, but let us never lose sight of the reason for the journey, or miss a chance to see a rainbow on the way.” -Gloria Gaither
The colors of the rainbow are Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. An easy way to remember the colors of the rainbow is with the acronymic mnemonic ROY G. BIV. An acronym is a word typically formed from the initial, or first, letters of words, and a mnemonic is a method that aids in the memorization of information.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read Abbreviations And Acronyms Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky!
-William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850): “My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold” (1802)
Rainbow To Windward
Rainbow to windward,
Foul fall the day.
Rainbow to leeward,
Rain runs away.
By Author Unknown: weather lore for sailors
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read Ships And Sailors Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
If there are rainbows and moonbows, are there starbows? Starbows are a hypothetical visual phenomenon, in which passengers on a fast-moving spaceship would see a rainbow-like band of stars. Stars ahead would appear blue-shifted, and stars behind would appear red-shifted, with a ‘rainbow’ of colors in between.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read Stars And Astronomy Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
Fun fact: The word ‘rainbow’ has 7 letters in it, and a rainbow has 7 colors in it.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read Fun Facts And Trivia Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
Rainbows were called ‘bows of promise’ in traditional Victorian English.
“We may run, walk, stumble, drive, or fly, but let us never lose sight of the reason for the journey, or miss a chance to see a rainbow on the way.” -Gloria Gaither
The colors of the rainbow are Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. An easy way to remember the colors of the rainbow is with the acronymic mnemonic ROY G. BIV. An acronym is a word typically formed from the initial, or first, letters of words, and a mnemonic is a method that aids in the memorization of information.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read Abbreviations And Acronyms Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky!
-William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850): “My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold” (1802)
Who is ROY G. BIV? Hello, allow me to introduce myself. My name is ROY G. BIV. I am here to help you remember the colors of the rainbow. I am an acronym, and so each letter in my name stands for one of the colors found in a rainbow, like the colorful rainbow shown above. R is for Red, O is for Orange, Y is for Yellow, G is for Green, B is for Blue, I is for Indigo, and V is for Violet. So that’s me, ROY G. BIV.
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ROY G. BIV
ROY G. BIV is
An odd name for a fellow
But what his name means is
Red, Orange, Yellow
The G is for Green
Which as you may know
Comes right in the middle
Of every rainbow.
Next come Blue and Indigo
More pale than dark
Then V for Violet -
And that completes the arc.
By Author Unknown
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Somewhere over the rainbow,
Skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.
- E.Y. Harburg (Edgar Yipsel ‘Yip’ Harburg (born Isidore Hochberg (1896- 1981)))
Rainbows Quiz
- Is a rainbow a spectrum of light that appears when the Sun shines on water droplets in the air?
- How many colors are commonly recognized as being in a rainbow?
- What are the colors of the rainbow?
“The sky itself is the eighth color of the rainbow, spread over the whole sky for us, all the time.” -Kim Stanley Robinson: “Galileo’s Dream” (2009), Chapter 15, page 354
Rainbows Quiz Answers
- A rainbow can be described as a spectrum of light that appears when the Sun shines on water droplets in the air.
- Rainbows have seven commonly recognized colors.
- The colors of the rainbow are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
“May your skies be always filled with great and glorious rainbows.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)
We are MFOL! . . . wishing you rainbow skies forever . . .
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read Mnemonics And Memory Aids.
ROY G. BIV
ROY G. BIV is
An odd name for a fellow
But what his name means is
Red, Orange, Yellow
The G is for Green
Which as you may know
Comes right in the middle
Of every rainbow.
Next come Blue and Indigo
More pale than dark
Then V for Violet -
And that completes the arc.
By Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read Poems And Poetry Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
Somewhere over the rainbow,
Skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.
- E.Y. Harburg (Edgar Yipsel ‘Yip’ Harburg (born Isidore Hochberg (1896- 1981)))
Rainbows Quiz
- Is a rainbow a spectrum of light that appears when the Sun shines on water droplets in the air?
- How many colors are commonly recognized as being in a rainbow?
- What are the colors of the rainbow?
“The sky itself is the eighth color of the rainbow, spread over the whole sky for us, all the time.” -Kim Stanley Robinson: “Galileo’s Dream” (2009), Chapter 15, page 354
Rainbows Quiz Answers
- A rainbow can be described as a spectrum of light that appears when the Sun shines on water droplets in the air.
- Rainbows have seven commonly recognized colors.
- The colors of the rainbow are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
“May your skies be always filled with great and glorious rainbows.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)
We are MFOL! . . . wishing you rainbow skies forever . . .
