607PhysicsMedium
Which of the following statements is true when we see ‘rainbow’ ?
AThe sky remains clear and the sun is at lower position in the sky
BWe face sun and raindrops
CIn light rainfall, we face Sun
DThe Sun remains behind us and we face raindrops
Correct answer
D. The Sun remains behind us and we face raindrops
Explanation
We see rainbows because of the geometry of raindrops. When the sun shines from behind us into the rain, incident rays of light enter the drop and are refracted inwards. They are reflected from the back surface of the raindrop, and refracted again as they exit the raindrop and return to our eyes. A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection of light in water droplets in the Earth’s atmosphere, resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky.