Question

The phenomena of light involved in the formation of a rainbow are:

• A. Refraction, reflection and dispersion
• B. Refraction, dispersion and internal reflection
• C. Reflection, dispersion and internal reflection
• D. Refraction, dispersion, scattering and total internal reflection

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Understand what a rainbow is
A rainbow is a natural spectrum of light appearing in the sky, typically after rain, when sunlight interacts with water droplets in the atmosphere.

Step 2: Identify the phenomena involved
The formation of a rainbow involves the following optical phenomena:
1. Refraction: When sunlight enters a raindrop, it bends (refracts) at the air-water boundary.
2. Dispersion: Inside the drop, light splits into its constituent seven colours due to varying refractive indices for different wavelengths.
3. Internal reflection: The dispersed light reflects off the inner surface of the raindrop.
4. Refraction again: The light exits the drop and refracts once more, spreading out to form the rainbow.

Step 3: Conclusion
The key phenomena responsible for rainbow formation are:
Refraction, dispersion and internal reflection