Do you know what white rainbows are? Well, white rainbows are cooler than ordinary rainbows. We're sharing everything we know about white rainbows so you can be on the lookout for one yourself!
White rainbows are also called as fogbows are a natural phenomenon. Just like an ordinary rainbow, white rainbows are created due to the light of the sun being refracted or reflected through the water droplets in the fog, mist, or cloud. This is unlike traditional rainbows where light is reflected or refracted through rain droplets.
Fogbows appear white because the water droplets where the light is bent is 0.1mm in diameter smaller than rain drops. White rainbows undergo a process similar to refraction called diffraction. Diffraction is the process where light is bent through obstacles, in this case, the water droplets, and where a dominant effect is achieved. In the case of fogbows, the dominant color is white with a tint of red on its edges.
White rainbows are actually circular in shape but because of the ground, it gets cut into a smooth arc. A full circle fogbow can be sometimes spotted through airplanes.
Another natural phenomenon that is also due to the diffraction of light can be seen alongside a white rainbow. The natural phenomenon called "glory" is a sequence of multiple rings located in the center of the bow of the white rainbow.
The photo of a tree with a white rainbow appearing above it in a perfect arc was captured by Melvin Nicholson. The photo was taken on Rannoch Moor at Glencoe, Scotland. Melvin, along with his friend Scott Robertson, was amazed at what they saw.
Nicholson said it was the first time he was seeing such a thing [white rainbows] and only knew about it then. In an interview with Mashable, Melvin Nicholson said, "I am just so pleased that people are getting to know that fogbows exist as it appears few people do, including me".
How about you? Have you ever seen a white rainbow before? If a traditional rainbow has a pot of gold at its end, what pot will we find at the end of a white rainbow? Share your theories in the comments below!
