Home
Class 12
PHYSICS
A secondary rainbow is formed when light...

A secondary rainbow is formed when light rays coming from the Sun undergo the following through spherical water droplets

A

A refraction internal reflection and then refraction

B

Two refractions only

C

A refraction internal reflection again internal reflection and then refraction

D

A refraction internal reflection and again internal reflection

Text Solution

AI Generated Solution

The correct Answer is:
To solve the question regarding the formation of a secondary rainbow when light rays from the Sun interact with spherical water droplets, we can break down the process into clear steps: ### Step-by-Step Solution: 1. **Incident Light**: Sunlight, which is composed of various colors (spectrum), enters the spherical water droplet. **Hint**: Remember that sunlight is made up of different colors that can be separated through refraction. 2. **Refraction at Entry**: As the light rays enter the droplet, they undergo refraction. This bending of light occurs because light travels slower in water than in air, causing the light to change direction. **Hint**: Think about how light bends when it moves from one medium to another. 3. **Dispersion of Light**: Due to the different wavelengths of light, each color bends by a different amount. This separation of colors is known as dispersion, resulting in a spectrum of colors inside the droplet. **Hint**: Recall that shorter wavelengths (like violet) bend more than longer wavelengths (like red). 4. **Internal Reflection**: After dispersion, the light rays reflect off the inner surface of the droplet. In the case of a secondary rainbow, this involves total internal reflection (TIR) occurring twice. **Hint**: Remember that TIR happens when the light hits the boundary at an angle greater than the critical angle. 5. **Refraction at Exit**: The light rays then exit the droplet. As they leave, they undergo refraction again, bending once more as they move from water back into air. **Hint**: Consider how the light path changes again as it exits the droplet. 6. **Formation of the Secondary Rainbow**: The combination of these processes results in the formation of a secondary rainbow. The colors of the secondary rainbow are inverted compared to the primary rainbow, with red on the bottom and violet on the top. **Hint**: Think about the order of colors in a rainbow and how they are affected by the internal processes in the droplet. ### Final Answer: The correct sequence of events for the formation of a secondary rainbow is: Refraction, Internal Reflection, Internal Reflection, and then Refraction. ### Summary of Steps: 1. Incident Light 2. Refraction at Entry 3. Dispersion of Light 4. Internal Reflection (TIR twice) 5. Refraction at Exit 6. Formation of the Secondary Rainbow
Promotional Banner

Topper's Solved these Questions

  • GEOMETRICAL OPTICS : REFRACTION

    RESNICK AND HALLIDAY|Exercise Practice questions(More than one correct choice type)|14 Videos
  • GEOMETRICAL OPTICS : REFRACTION

    RESNICK AND HALLIDAY|Exercise Practice questions(Linked Comprehension)|2 Videos
  • GEOMETRICAL OPTICS : REFRACTION

    RESNICK AND HALLIDAY|Exercise Problems|44 Videos
  • GEOMETRICAL OPTICS : REFLECTION

    RESNICK AND HALLIDAY|Exercise PRACTICE QUESTIONS (Integer Type)|3 Videos
  • GRAVITATION

    RESNICK AND HALLIDAY|Exercise PRACTICE QUESTIONS (INTEGER TYPE)|4 Videos

Similar Questions

Explore conceptually related problems

Sunset is red because at that time the light coming from the sun has to travel :

A ray of light undergoes ……… on passing through a prism.

Harmful ultraviolet rays coming from sun are absorbed by

When light rays from the sun fall on a convex lens along a direction paralle to its axis

Which of the following property of water can be used to explain the spherical shape of rain droplets ?

Refractive index of water with respect to air is sqrt(2) . Alight ray is incident on the surface at an angle 30° travelling through water. The deviation of light ray is

RESNICK AND HALLIDAY-GEOMETRICAL OPTICS : REFRACTION-Practice questions(single correct choice type)
  1. A concave mirror and a convex lens are of the same focal length in air...

    Text Solution

    |

  2. A section of a spherical shell of outer radius R(0) and inner radius R...

    Text Solution

    |

  3. A concave lens of glass, refractive index 1.5 has both surfaces of sam...

    Text Solution

    |

  4. When an object is at a distance u(1) and u(2) from the optical centre ...

    Text Solution

    |

  5. A concavo-convex glass (index=1.5) lens has radii of curvatures 60cm a...

    Text Solution

    |

  6. Angle of minimum deviation is equal to the angle of prism A of an equi...

    Text Solution

    |

  7. A ray of light passes through an equilateral prism such that the angle...

    Text Solution

    |

  8. The critical angle for glass to air refraction is least for which colo...

    Text Solution

    |

  9. A prism is made of glass which has a higher index of refraction for vi...

    Text Solution

    |

  10. The focal lengths of a convex lens for blue and red colors of light ar...

    Text Solution

    |

  11. A secondary rainbow is formed when light rays coming from the Sun unde...

    Text Solution

    |

  12. The dispersive powers of two lenses are 0.01 and 0.02 . If focal lengt...

    Text Solution

    |

  13. Focal lengths of two lenses are f and f' and dispersive powers of thei...

    Text Solution

    |

  14. The table lists the index of refraction for various substances at 20^(...

    Text Solution

    |

  15. What is the frequency of light that has a wavelength in water of 6.00x...

    Text Solution

    |

  16. Blue light with a wavelength of 425 nm passes from a vacuum into a gla...

    Text Solution

    |

  17. A child is looking at a reflection of the Sun in a pool of water. When...

    Text Solution

    |

  18. A ray of light originating in oil (n=1.21) is incident at the Brewster...

    Text Solution

    |

  19. A converging lens with a focal length of 12cm produces a 3cm light vir...

    Text Solution

    |

  20. A camera with a focal length of 0.0500m (a 50mm lens) is focused for a...

    Text Solution

    |