Exploring the Mystery of Double Rainbows

Thread starter harp AP 2010
Start date Oct 27, 2010
Tags

Mystery Rainbows

AI Thread Summary

Double rainbows occur when light is refracted, reflected, and dispersed through raindrops, resulting in two concentric arcs. The outer, fainter rainbow appears due to a second internal reflection within the raindrop, which reverses the color order compared to the primary rainbow. This phenomenon is a result of the different angles at which light exits the raindrop, leading to the distinct color arrangements. Understanding this requires knowledge of light behavior and the physics of refraction and reflection. The exploration of double rainbows highlights the complexity and beauty of natural optical phenomena.

Oct 27, 2010

harp AP 2010

Homework Statement

What causes the faint rainbow outside of the primary one, and why are its colors reversed?

Homework Equations

I know that rainbows form from passing through raindrops but I don't know about the second one.

The Attempt at a Solution

Physics news on Phys.org

Oct 28, 2010

Stonebridge

Here is an explanation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow#Variations

Thread 'Errors and significant figures'

I multiplied the values first without the error limit. Got 19.38. rounded it off to 2 significant figures since the given data has 2 significant figures. So = 19. For error I used the above formula. It comes out about 1.48. Now my question is. Should I write the answer as 19±1.5 (rounding 1.48 to 2 significant figures) OR should I write it as 19±1. So in short, should the error have same number of significant figures as the mean value or should it have the same number of decimal places as...

View full post »

Thread 'A cylinder connected to a hanging mass'

Let's declare that for the cylinder, mass = M = 10 kg Radius = R = 4 m For the wall and the floor, Friction coeff = ##\mu## = 0.5 For the hanging mass, mass = m = 11 kg First, we divide the force according to their respective plane (x and y thing, correct me if I'm wrong) and according to which, cylinder or the hanging mass, they're working on. Force on the hanging mass $$mg - T = ma$$ Force(Cylinder) on y $$N_f + f_w - Mg = 0$$ Force(Cylinder) on x $$T + f_f - N_w = Ma$$ There's also...

View full post »

Thread 'Explain this asphalt sheen'

This problem is two parts. The first is to determine what effects are being provided by each of the elements - 1) the window panes; 2) the asphalt surface. My answer to that is The second part of the problem is exactly why you get this affect. And one more spoiler:

View full post »