The colors of the rainbow, ranging from red to violet, are a result of light dispersion as sunlight interacts with water droplets in the atmosphere. White sunlight, which is made up of light from all colors in the visible spectrum, refracts (bends) when it enters a raindrop. Each color of light bends by a different amount due to its wavelength, with red light bending the least and violet light bending the most. As the light reflects off the inside surface of the raindrop and exits, it spreads out into a spectrum of colors, creating the familiar arc. This phenomenon is called dispersion, and it is what causes the rainbow to appear as a smooth gradient of colors, rather than a simple blend of light.

The arrangement of colors in a rainbow is always the same  red at the top, followed by orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. This sequence occurs because of the precise angles at which light is refracted within the raindrop about 42 degrees for the primary rainbow. The colors themselves are not inherently fixed, but are perceived as distinct by the human eye due to differences in wavelength and how our brains process light. Understanding this scientific process helps explain why rainbows appear as they do and why they are such a consistent and mesmerizing feature of nature. Shutdown123