why the shape of rainbow is always elipse or curved? Why it is not linear?

Question

the rainbow is always curved

Answer 1

Because the water particles involved are not linear.

Answer 2

you are seeing the reflection of the light from the sun. Notice that the sun is always behind you when you are looking at a rainbow. The reflection angle is constant so you seem to be standing at the center of focus If you were in an airplane looking down the rainbow would be a full circle underneath you. On the ground you only see part of the circle. The bottom half is not there because the rain has hit the ground so it can not reflict anything below you.

Answer 3

A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that reasons a spectrum of sunshine to look interior the sky while the sunlight shines onto droplets of moisture interior the Earth's atmosphere. They take the style of a multicoloured arc. The "bow" element of the be conscious describes the undeniable fact that the rainbow is a team of almost around arcs of shade all having a hassle-unfastened center. by using fact the rain drop is around the sunrays get refracted after passing it in form of a curve. the sunshine is first refracted because it enters the exterior of the raindrop, pondered off the back of the drop, and back refracted because it leaves the drop. the final consequence is that the incoming gentle is pondered back over a large array of angles, with the main extreme gentle at an attitude of 40°–40 two° looking on its refractive index. it is formed in an entire circle yet its 0.5 section is seen in form of a sizable arc on the sky by using fact the horizon gets interior the way and we see the 0.5 section on the sky in form of a Rainbow. Rainbows may well be brought about by ability of alternative varieties of water than rain, inclusive of mist, spray, and dew and in case the water is in form of around drops be it small or vast.

Answer 4

You can only see the refracted light of the sun from a rainbow when the angle formed by the sun, the raindrop and the observer is 42 deg (due to the critical angle for total internal reflection based on the index of refraction of water). So, the locus of points that satisfies that 42 deg criterion is a circle.

Answer 5

The water saturated air creates a lens effect. That is the reason the Rainbow is curved.
A person with cataracts looking at a light at night will see a rainbow. The rainbow will appear as a Circle. The Effect has to do with the lens in his eyes.
The lens effect reffracts the colors at the different frequency of the light just like in a prism.The Spreading of the different colors is called frequency dispersion of light.

Answer 6

If you see a rainbow from high above it in an airplane, it is actually a huge circle. When you are on the ground, you only see half of it.

Answer 7

The sun shining after Our own Earth and they are both round! Remember? The rainbow is curved because the rain is never falling equal to earth, and there where the sunshine is going trough, breaking the light in the full spectrum.

Answer 8

a rain bow actually extends all the way around the earth. you will never beable to catch the end of it sence it extends to the ends of the earth and beyond... also our sun is above it so this may be why it always looks curved instead of linear.
cheers
jo

Answer 9

a rainbow only forms with particular sunlight, so when the light reflect in the atmosphere thats what we end up with. awesome question and sorry for the lackluster answer.....

...............by the way who answers questions by saying "because" what a dumb broad

Answer 10

it follows the curve of the atmosphere