Re: sundogs vs rainbows

In the wikipedia article links to supernumerary rainbows
(see http://www.jal.cc.il.us/~mikolajsawicki/rainbows.htm these are not
secondary rainbows, as the supernumerary bows seem are directly adjacent
like they are connected to the inside of regular rainbows and are rare)
show good examples of the difference between the two. They also say that
supernumary rainbows can only be explained by the wave nature of light:

" Supernumerary rainbows provide a strong indication of the wave nature of
light. In fact, it was a mystery of supernumerary rainbows that prompted
Thomas Young to do the famous double-slit experiment in 1801 that confirmed
the wave nature of light and led to his explanation of supernumerary
rainbows in 1803. "

Can anyone briefly explain this?
thanks
Lyle





"Skywise" <into@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:119aph2nc4gjt19@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> "Lyle Walsh" <walshlgNOSPAM@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
> news:76371$42953552$4501293b$13522@xxxxxxxxxxx:
>
>> would someone please explain why the innermost visible color ring of a
>> sundog is red while that of a rainbow is violet? The only consistancy I
>> can think of is that the ring closest to the sun has the longest
>> wavelengths. thanks
>> Lyle
>
> It's because the rainbow involves a reflection inside the water
> droplet.
>
> In a sundog, the light comes towards you, enters the droplet
> is refracted some as it does so, then exits the droplet
> towards you, being refracted again as it does so. Very much
> like how a prism works.
>
> In a rainbow, the light goes in, is reflected on the backside,
> then comes out more-or-less back towards the light source.
>
> The reflection is what reverses the order of colors relative
> to the sundog.
>
> An excellent depiction of a rainbow plus the secondary bow:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow
>
> A diagram of sundogs:
> http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/opt/ice/sd.rxml
>
> Some more starting points for learning about these and other
> atmospheric optical phenomenon:
> http://www.engl.paraselene.de/html/parhelic_circle.html
> http://www.meteoros.de/indexe.htm
> http://www.sundog.clara.co.uk/resource/indx.htm
>
> Brian
> --
> http://www.skywise711.com - Lasers, Seismology, Astronomy, Skepticism
>
> Home of the Seismic FAQ
> http://www.skywise711.com/SeismicFAQ/SeismicFAQ.html
>
> Sed quis custodiet ipsos Custodes?


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