Explain · analogy
How a rainbow works in terms of a disco ball
A rainbow is basically a disco ball that has been smashed into a million pieces and scattered across the sky by a giant with poor motor skills.
Light enters a raindrop, hits the back surface like a glittery disco panel, and reflects outwards at a specific angle. As the beam leaves the drop, it refracts, splitting the white light into a spectrum. Because the water acts like a tiny, suspended prism, you get that familiar band of colour, red on the outside and violet on the inside. You are essentially standing in the middle of a celestial dance floor, and the rain is just the confetti cannon firing in the wrong direction.
You have to be positioned with the sun at your back to see the show, which is the atmospheric equivalent of trying to catch your own reflection in a puddle while standing on a beanbag. Because everyone has a different viewpoint, you are not actually looking at a physical object at all. Your neighbour is staring at their own unique cluster of droplets, meaning every rainbow is a bespoke, private gig for one. It is a bit like a silent disco where the music is just the sun screaming in wavelengths and the light show is invisible to anyone not standing exactly where you are.
Where the analogy breaks downA rainbow is a projection of light rather than a solid rotating object that throws actual sparks.