About this Simulation

This simulation models light ray deflection through spherical water droplets to understand primary rainbow formation. Learners adjust incident angles, refractive indices, and wavelengths to observe how light bends and reflects inside droplets, exploring the relationship between deflection angle and rainbow visibility across the visible spectrum.

Learning objectives: Understand how refraction and internal reflection create rainbow colours | Investigate the relationship between wavelength, deflection angle, and rainbow geometry | Predict primary rainbow position using ray optics principles