what is a rainbow and what's the purpose to have one? How it is form?

Question

is it true that you will find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?

Answer 1

A rainbow occurs when light shines through water droplets in the air and diffracts into different colors. All these colors are present in the light already; you see them separate when they go through something that separates them, like a prism. You may have also seen this effect with a crystal or along the edge of a piece of thick glass.

Since you need water in the air to diffract the light, you normally only see them after a rainstorm or other precipitation.

Sorry, there are no pots of gold or leprechauns at the end of rainbows. They're only made up of light, nothing solid. But they feel kinda special anyway, don't they?

Answer 2

A rainbow is formed when droplets of water in the air cause refraction of white light from the sun. Refraction is when a beam of white light is split into beams of colored light by a prism.

For more info, check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow

PS - There might be a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but you will never be able to get there, because the rainbow is always at a certain angle between you and the sun, so when you move, the rainbow moves.

Answer 3

There is no pot of gold. In fact, there is no end to a rainbow. A rainbow is actually a complete circle. The part you don't see is either underground or under water. It's formed by the light shining and reflecting off of water droplets in the atmosphere.

Answer 4

The purpose is to make us smile. Isn't that worth a pot of gold?

Check out the source for more information on rainbows and some images. Also has some links to other good sites.

DAS

Answer 5

no pot of gold, but you can always try...
from a christian standpoint, a rainbow was considered God's promise that He would never again flood the earth so badly as to kill everyone on it (read up on Noah?)
from a scientific viewpoint, its like other ppl said. when your back is to the sun and you are facing the rain, the light from the sun strikes the rain droplets such that the light refracts. since light is comprised of the colors of the rainbow and each color travels at a slightly different speed, they refract at different angles and you get this beautiful spectrum of colors before you =)

Answer 6

Rainbow is simply sun light refracting off of the liquids in the air and thus white light separates into the color spectrum. No there is no pot of gold.

Answer 7

Somewhere over the rainbow,
Way up high.
There's a land that I heard of,
Once in a lullaby.
Somewhere over the rainbow,
Skies are blue.
And the dreams that you dare to dream,
Really do come true.
Someday I'll wish upon a star,
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
Where troubles melt like a pot of gold,
High above my puny household.
That's where you'll find me.
Somewhere over the rainbow,
Bluebirds fly.
Birds fly over the rainbow,
Why then - oh, why can't I?
If happy little bluebirds fly,
Beyond the rainbow,
Why, oh, why can't I?

Answer 8

there's no end to a rainbow. It's existance is based on where you are in relation to the sun, water droplets in the air. If you move towards the end of the rainbow, the rainbow will move with you.

Answer 9

a rainbow is basically light. The rain acts like a prism for the sun. When light passes through a prism it separates into the colors of a rainbow.

Answer 10

As djpetra points out, a rainbow is actually a circle. The interesting (and real) question is what will you find at the center of the rainbow?

Answer: the shadow of your head.