Whenever we see a rainbow, why do we see red, orange, yellow, etc. on the top and not on the bottom??

Question

Whenever we see a rainbow, why do we see red, orange, yellow, etc. on the top and not on the bottom??

In: Physics

Answer 1

Here’s something interesting to add to what the others mentioned. If you’re ever fortunate enough to see a double rainbow, pay close attention to the outer bow. You might notice that the red is on the inside instead of the outside. It’s caused by the same sunlight but it bounces twice inside the rain drops instead of once, so it comes out at a different angle and reversed.

So, the real answer is that you can see it the other way around. You just have to be looking at the right rainbow.