Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Precipitation Processes01:12

Precipitation Processes

The experimental conditions in a gravimetric analysis should be optimized to maximize the particle size and purity of the obtained precipitate. Ideally, the concentration of the precipitating reagent should be low with effective stirring to maintain low relative supersaturation for the growth of large crystals. In homogeneous precipitation, the precipitant is slowly generated by a chemical reaction in the solution to avoid local reagent excesses. For example, urea decomposes gradually to...
Influence of Earth's Curvature and Atmospheric Refraction on Leveling01:26

Influence of Earth's Curvature and Atmospheric Refraction on Leveling

During leveling, the Earth's curvature and atmospheric refraction introduce deviations in the line of sight from a true horizontal reference. When the line of sight is leveled, it remains perpendicular to the plumb line only at a single point. Beyond this, it deviates due to the Earth’s curvature, represented by the correction C. For a sight distance D, the deviation can be derived using the relationship:This relationship shows that the deviation increases quadratically with distance. Over a...
Variation of Atmospheric Pressure01:18

Variation of Atmospheric Pressure

Change in atmospheric pressure with height is particularly interesting. The decrease in atmospheric pressure with increasing altitude is due to the decreasing gravitational force per unit area as we move away from the surface of the earth.
Assuming the air temperature is constant at a given altitude and that the ideal gas law of thermodynamics describes the atmosphere to a good approximation, one can find the variation of atmospheric pressure with height.
Let p(y) be the atmospheric pressure at...
Precipitation of Ions03:11

Precipitation of Ions

Predicting Precipitation
The equation that describes the equilibrium between solid calcium carbonate and its solvated ions is:
Modeling and Similitude01:12

Modeling and Similitude

Scaled modeling is a fundamental technique in engineering, enabling the study of large and complex systems by creating smaller, manageable replicas that recreate critical characteristics of the original. In hydrology and civil infrastructure, for example, scaled models of dams help analyze water flow, turbulence, and pressure. This method allows for accurate predictions of real-world behavior within a controlled environment, significantly reducing the cost and time involved in full-scale...
Radiation Pressure: Problem Solving01:09

Radiation Pressure: Problem Solving

The radiation pressure applied by an electromagnetic wave on a perfectly absorbing surface equals the energy density of the wave. The wave's momentum also gets transferred to the surface when an electromagnetic wave is entirely absorbed by it. The rate at which momentum is transmitted to an absorbing surface perpendicular to the propagation direction equals the force on the surface.
The average value of the rate of momentum transfer divided by the absorbing area represents the average force per...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Halo brilliance: real versus ideal.

Applied optics·2026
Same author

Solar eclipse skies and limb reddening.

Applied optics·2020
Same author

Colored thunderstorms.

Applied optics·2017
Same author

Red-based cumulus.

Applied optics·2015
Same author

Approach to photorealistic halo simulations.

Applied optics·2011
Same author

Crepuscular rays: laboratory experiments and simulations.

Applied optics·2011
Same journal

Multifunctional reconfigurable terahertz metasurface based on vanadium dioxide phase transition: achieving broadband absorption and efficient polarization conversion.

Applied optics·2026
Same journal

High-Q-factor electromagnetically induced transparency utilizing quasi-bound states in the continuum in an all-dielectric terahertz metasurface.

Applied optics·2026
Same journal

Automated stitching interferometry for high-precision metrology of X-ray mirrors.

Applied optics·2026
Same journal

Experimental demonstration of an approach to designing a metal-dielectric DBR resonant cavity structure.

Applied optics·2026
Same journal

High-precision wavefront reconstruction from a single-shot interferogram using a physics-driven hybrid feature calibration network.

Applied optics·2026
Same journal

Ultra-high-Q Fano resonance based on coupled topological corner states in Kagome photonic crystals.

Applied optics·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 27, 2026

A Protocol for Conducting Rainfall Simulation to Study Soil Runoff
10:35

A Protocol for Conducting Rainfall Simulation to Study Soil Runoff

Published on: April 3, 2014

Simulating rainbows in their atmospheric environment.

Stanley David Gedzelman1

  • 1Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and NOAA CREST Center, City College of New York, New York, New York 10031, USA. stan@sci.ccny.cuny.edu

Applied Optics
|November 28, 2008
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This study simulates atmospheric rainbows, revealing their visibility and color depend on rain shaft thickness and background light. Rainbows are brightest in typical rain showers but fade against bright backgrounds or shade.

More Related Videos

Simulating Impacts of Ice Storms on Forest Ecosystems
06:27

Simulating Impacts of Ice Storms on Forest Ecosystems

Published on: June 30, 2020

Simulating Imaging of Large Scale Radio Arrays on the Lunar Surface
06:14

Simulating Imaging of Large Scale Radio Arrays on the Lunar Surface

Published on: July 30, 2020

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 27, 2026

A Protocol for Conducting Rainfall Simulation to Study Soil Runoff
10:35

A Protocol for Conducting Rainfall Simulation to Study Soil Runoff

Published on: April 3, 2014

Simulating Impacts of Ice Storms on Forest Ecosystems
06:27

Simulating Impacts of Ice Storms on Forest Ecosystems

Published on: June 30, 2020

Simulating Imaging of Large Scale Radio Arrays on the Lunar Surface
06:14

Simulating Imaging of Large Scale Radio Arrays on the Lunar Surface

Published on: July 30, 2020

Area of Science:

  • Atmospheric optics
  • Geometric optics
  • Radiative transfer

Background:

  • Rainbows are optical phenomena resulting from light interacting with water droplets.
  • Previous simulations often simplified atmospheric conditions and light scattering effects.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To simulate the appearance of geometric optics rainbows in a realistic atmospheric environment.
  • To investigate the influence of atmospheric conditions, rain shaft properties, and background illumination on rainbow visibility and color.

Main Methods:

  • Simulated sunlight passing through a molecular atmosphere with ozone and aerosols.
  • Modeled rainbows as singly scattered sunbeams depleted by atmospheric and rain shaft passage.
  • Analyzed rainbow appearance under various background lighting and rain shaft optical thicknesses (tau(R)).

Main Results:

  • Primary and secondary bows become visible at optical thicknesses tau(R) ≈ 0.0003 and tau(R) ≈ 0.003, respectively, against dark backgrounds.
  • Rainbows exhibit maximum brightness and color saturation for 0.1 ≤ tau(R) ≤ 3, typical for most rain showers.
  • Rainbows remain vivid in optically thick rain against dark backgrounds but fade with increasing background brightness or shade; they also redden near the horizon.

Conclusions:

  • Atmospheric conditions and background illumination significantly impact rainbow perception.
  • The optical thickness of the rain shaft is a critical factor determining rainbow visibility and intensity.
  • Geometric optics provides a robust framework for understanding rainbow phenomena in realistic atmospheric settings.