In 1304, Theodoric of Freiberg, a German monk and physicist, proposed the hypothesis that each raindrop in the cloud makes its own rainbow. He observed the diffraction of sunlight in a circular bottle. Then in 1666 Sir Isaac Newton discovered that a ray of light is divided by a prism into two colors, the rainbow spectrum and the white light. White light is a combination of all the colors in the color spectrum. In 1979 Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher wrote the "Rainbow Connection" that was performed by Kermit the Frog with a banjo in the Muppet Movie. It became a new favorite song for many young children and adults. As Kermit said, "Rainbows are visions. They're only illusions, and rainbows have nothing to hide". In Judeo-Christianity, the rainbow is associated with God's protection as it is described in the Book of Genesis (9:11-17) as a sign between God and man. A double rainbow is considered a sign of transformation and is a sign of good fortune in eastern cultures. The first arc represents the material world, and the second arc signifies the spiritual realm. No two people see the exact same rainbow, because a rainbow is an optical phenomenon. A rainbow does not have a physical presence, so its shape, arc, width and intensity of its color bands depends on the eye of the beholder. Therefore, every rainbow is unique to you! Earth is the only planet in the solar system that has rainbows. The reason for this is that earth is the only planet with consistent liquid precipitation and direct sunlight. When you see a double rainbow, the secondary one will be higher and fainter in color and the colors will be reversed. Red with be the top color of the primary rainbow and will move to the bottom in the second rainbow. Were you taught the acronym Roy G. Biv? It stands for the 7 colors as they appear in a rainbow; red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Rainbows never touch the ground. They are actually full circles. When standing on the ground we can only see the light reflected by raindrops above the ground. Viewers in an aircraft can sometimes see the whole circular rainbow. Rainbows usually last less than an hour. But in 2017, students and professors of the Chinese Culture University, located in the mountains of Taipei, Taiwan, observed a rainbow for 8 hours and 58 minutes. Hawaii has the most rainbows. There's a lot of rain and sun light in Hawaii! The rainbows colors have special meanings. The first color is red and is a symbol of danger or aggression. It can also signify hope, a more positive symbol. It represents love, passion and life. Orange is the second color and has no negative connotation. It is one of the most positive hues conveying energy and vitality. Therefore, we consider it a color of joy, positivism and enthusiasm. It also indicates prosperity. Next is yellow and symbolizes happiness and joy. The hue has also historically been associated with wealth and abundance. It is also associated with inspiration and creativity. Green is the next color and is considered a cold tone. It is associated with nature and environment, which is constantly being renewed, grown and replenished. Green is also associated with optimism, well-being, vigor, harmony and self-assurance. The next cold tone is blue. It is both a positive and negative color. Its negativity is associated with monotony, boredom and depression. On a positive note, it is associated with feelings of calm, harmony and tranquility. The sixth color, indigo, is a combination of the blue and the 7th color, violet. Indigo stands for humility, respect and the ability to express one's individuality. The last color is violet, another cold hue. Closely associated with this color is magic and the spiritual world. It is thought to symbolize a balanced relationship between our internal and external worlds and renew our inner peace. Hopefully you will find a rainbow. And remember you are seeing something special and unique to you! Happy hunting! P.S. If the sun is shining you can create your own rainbow with your hose and a fine spray. Remember to put the sun on your back! We would like to share our rainbows with you.
|
ANDEAN RAINBOW" suddenly appeared as we were at the highest point of our trip over the Andes at the end of a rainstorm. Needless to say, we came to a screeching halt, flew out of our vehicle and caught this brilliant display of color which did not last very long!
SWEET OMEN" was captured in Hawaii. A rainstorm had just passed over these sugar cane fields when the sun came out and gave us this beautiful rainbow.