Rainbow over a mountain landscape. Image from Wikimedia Commons.
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A rainbow appears when sunlight interacts with water droplets in the air. As light enters a droplet, it bends, or refracts. The light is also separated into different colours because each wavelength bends by a slightly different amount. The light reflects from the inside of the droplet and bends again as it leaves. Millions of droplets can send coloured light toward an observer. A rainbow is therefore not a solid object in one place; its appearance depends on the positions of the Sun, droplets and viewer.
