The rainbow is a natural phenomenon which has delighted people for thousands of years. Most cultures consider the rainbow with affection; it is usually associated with beauty and peace.

We start the talk by looking at various pictures of rainbows from history and art and consider some of the features of rainbows, such as:

  •   The rainbow we see is part of a circular arc;

  •   We can often see two rainbows;

  •   There is always the same order of colours in a rainbow;

We show geometrically how a rainbow is formed and discover many of the properties of rainbows, and finish with further slides of more unusual phenomena in the sky.