About this Simulation

This rainbow simulator models how sunlight refracts and reflects inside water droplets to produce the spectrum of colours we observe in rainbows. Students can manipulate droplet size, viewing range, and light paths to investigate the physics of rainbow formation and understand why rainbows appear at specific angles.

Learning objectives: Understand how refraction and reflection of light in water droplets creates rainbows | Investigate the relationship between droplet size, viewing angle, and rainbow visibility | Explore the role of light wavelength in colour separation and spectrum formation