Prompt Cast
The Science and Symbolism of Rainbows
TLDR Rainbows are created when light is refracted and separated into different colors by raindrops or prisms. They can appear as a full circle and are not an even representation of all colors, with red being the most visible and blue being the least visible.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Rainbows have inspired countless fairy tales, songs, and legends, and continue to delight and astound people of all ages.
04:27
Descartes and Newton both played a role in describing the modern theory of rainbows, but Newton's interpretation of the rainbow spectrum with seven colors is a Newtonian invention and many argue that there are actually only six colors in the rainbow.
08:37
When light hits a prism or raindrop, it slows down and bends, causing the different colors of the visible spectrum to separate and form a rainbow.
13:08
To see a rainbow, the sun must be behind you, there must be moisture in front of you, and the sun's rays must be shining at a 42 degree angle from the anti-solar point.
17:00
When sunlight hits a raindrop, it acts like a prism and creates a colored spectrum inside the raindrop, but when we see a rainbow, we're only seeing one color because each raindrop is shooting one color at us based on its relation to us and the sun.
21:22
Double rainbows occur when light is refracted twice, creating a reverse rainbow where the colors are flipped.
25:38
Rainbows can appear as a full circle depending on your perspective and the amount of raindrops available to reflect the light.
29:26
Rainbows are not an even representation of all colors, with red being the most visible at 38% and blue being the least visible at 11%.
33:25
The LGBT rainbow flag originally had eight colors, including turquoise and hot pink, but they were discontinued due to fabric shortages, leaving the flag with six colors.
37:31
This section of the transcript contains ads for various podcasts and does not provide any information about rainbows.
Categories:
Society & Culture
