The secret of the double rainbow

2012/02/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Fisika

Scientists long ago discovered the secret of creating the common rainbow. However, the double rainbow has remained a mystery until recently. Specifically, an article on the creation of double branches has been published in the specialized magazine ACM Translation on Graphics.

According to this article, the secret is in the form of a drop of water: due to the wind, large raindrops become flattened. When the rays of light affect them, due to the irregular geometry of the drops, the light is reflected in two angles. As a result, two traces appear in the sky. Researchers have been able to demonstrate this thanks to computer simulations.