Rainbows

Developed by E. Behringer

Easy JavaScript Simulation by Fremont Teng and Loo Kang Wee

This set of exercises guides the student in exploring primary and secondary rainbows. It requires the student to generate, observe, and describe plots of the deflection angles for light of different wavelengths and identify rainbow angles for different values of the relative index of refraction.

Subject Area | Waves & Optics
Levels | First Year and Beyond the First Year
Available Implementation | Python & Easy JavaScript Simulation
Learning Objectives | Students who complete this set of exercises will be able to obtain and use information from peer-reviewed literature. Plot an equation over a range of values. Analyze and compare plots (Exercises 1 and 2); write the deflection angle in terms of the relative index of refraction to calculate the deflection angle of rays entering spherical drops (Exercises 3 and 4); produce and describe graphs of deflection angle versus incident angle for light of different wavelengths (Exercises 3 and 4). identify rainbow angles for light of different wavelengths (Exercises 3 and 4); and crudely estimate the intensity as a function of detection angle (Exercise 5).
Time to Complete | 120 min