Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => The Environment => Topic started by: Karen W. on 21/04/2007 15:01:04
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A week ago I had a awesome experience. I was driving home in my van when I saw a rainbow to the north of me looking onward down the road to my house. As I got closer and took a freeway exit along side the river, I realized I could see the end of the rainbow right in front of me down the road. It was coming down in front of a huge group of river willows along the roadside. As I approached it I realized it covered the whole road as I could see all the colors down low by the ground. Here is where I became baffled, I slowed the car down as I approached as I was in awe at how beautiful it was. I could no longer see the entire arch as It was right there I began to drive about two miles an hour through the rainbow.. It was awesome I could see the colors as my van moved, glowing on the front of my van. I glanced into the rear view mirror and could then see the colors hitting the side of my van as I passed through it's rays. It was awesome But once I under it I could no longer see it in front of me.. so weird..
Here's the rub.. It was in the space of what may have been 75 feet maybe... As I came out I looked up again towards the north and my home and to my amazement was the rainbow again, only it looked further away.. . Now my question to anyone who may know is. Was I still in in the rainbow ??? How wide or thick in miles do the rays of a rainbow cover? Does that make sense? I stopped the car and could still see it right at the back side of my vehicle. So why was I seeing the one I went through and another ahead as I did not see a double unless that was what the second one, and perhaps it was not visable before then first one..??? Were They the same rainbows? Was I inside of it?? Me is very confused and amazed but me do not understand what happened.
Please help??
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WOW !!..what an amazing experience !!....I don't the answers for you but I ABSOLUTELY LOVE RAINBOWS !!!!!
YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY !!!!
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Neily... You should have seen it it was truely awesome really awesome.. You would have loved it..! I love rainbows too. They baffle me but are incredible to see!!
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A rainbow is a phenomenon which produces what is called a virtual image. For virtual images, your eye sees 'rays' of light which appear to come from an object but they actually originate in a different place.
Sounds daft? Well, the image that you see in a mirror is formed on the surface of the mirror but appears to be somewhere behind the mirror - inside the wall - that's virtual, too.
There are some good pictures in Wikipedia and a diagram showing how the light bounces around inside each water droplet and then emerges, having been split into its spectral components (dispersed). You see the blue light from a set of drops which are low in the sky and red light from drops that are higher up etc..
You may feel that you are near or far from the actual 'bow' but you can't actually get to it because it always forms the arc of a circle about 84 degrees wide - you are in the centre of this circle. You can never actually get to 'the end of the rainbow' - as you chase it, it will appear to move away. So no gold, I'm afraid.
BUT - if you have a garden hose on a sunny day, you can make your own , localised, rainbow. It may take some experimenting but, with your back to the sun and with the spray in the right direction, you can see colours.
I think what Karen W saw was an 'ordinary' rainbow, due to raindrops at a distance, plus the effect of some nearby spray from the road - this would give the impression that part of the bow was near.
You can get some really lovely rainbow effects at times and, because they tend to be very short lived, they are even more impressive.
I bought a 'Rainbow Maker' a while ago, which is a faceted glass 'jewel ', rotated by a small solar-powered motor. You stick it onto a sunny window and it gives moving splashes of spectral colours all over the room. Very pretty.
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A rainbow is a phenomenon which produces what is called a virtual image. For virtual images, your eye sees 'rays' of light which appear to come from an object but they actually originate in a different place.
Sounds daft? Well, the image that you see in a mirror is formed on the surface of the mirror but appears to be somewhere behind the mirror - inside the wall - that's virtual, too.
There are some good pictures in Wikipedia and a diagram showing how the light bounces around inside each water droplet and then emerges, having been split into its spectral components (dispersed). You see the blue light from a set of drops which are low in the sky and red light from drops that are higher up etc..
You may feel that you are near or far from the actual 'bow' but you can't actually get to it because it always forms the arc of a circle about 84 degrees wide - you are in the centre of this circle. You can never actually get to 'the end of the rainbow' - as you chase it, it will appear to move away. So no gold, I'm afraid.
BUT - if you have a garden hose on a sunny day, you can make your own , localised, rainbow. It may take some experimenting but, with your back to the sun and with the spray in the right direction, you can see colours.
I think what Karen W saw was an 'ordinary' rainbow, due to raindrops at a distance, plus the effect of some nearby spray from the road - this would give the impression that part of the bow was near.
You can get some really lovely rainbow effects at times and, because they tend to be very short lived, they are even more impressive.
I bought a 'Rainbow Maker' a while ago, which is a faceted glass 'jewel ', rotated by a small solar-powered motor. You stick it onto a sunny window and it gives moving splashes of spectral colours all over the room. Very pretty.
I seen the rainbow from work. I drove approximately 5 miles and that is when in front of me I saw the rainbow was hitting in front of me near the ground in front of the trees, This was not looking through the mirror! As I approached it I could see colored light across the front of my van, as I was passing through it.. I THEN LOOKED IN THE MIRROR and could see the colors but as I moved further down the road I looked forward again to see Either the same one or another one way ahead over the mountains.. It was really cool.. I really don't get why you say you can't see the end.. Me is confused, what exactly was I seeing if it wasn't the end . I have no doubt it was a rainbow I have seen tons of rainbows, but I could see it down to almost ground level and on my car in the reflection..LOL So what was my car reflecting as I seen the rainbow colors..??? I do not understand!
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Cue the X-files music....... [;D]
A rainbow is not in a fixed place in the sky and although you can see the end you cant reach it cos it moves as you move. Something to do with the angle of observation, I think!
Bee
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So Please tell me what I was seeing then..LOL AM I loosing my mind???Whatever this was did not move , I passed through it then once through it looked forward to see another or the same even further away then this one had been... LOL I am loosing my mind..WHAT pray tell did I see. I could see the whole arch right up to the end in front of me and the reflection on my car.. so Please explain so I understand if it moves or whatever why did I see that! I am not blind..LOL LOL maybe I am HEE HEE I don't know but need to figure this one out!!LOL
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This was not looking through the mirror!
I didn't say that you had to look through a mirror to see a rainbow- I just said that a rainbow is a virtual image - just ;like any images you see in a mirror. It's not where you think you see it is! It's nowhere, actually.
Yes you can see an 'end' to a rainbow, often- I didn't say that either. The end will be where it meets the ground. It is a very weak colour (despite the fact that it can be breathtaking to watch ) so it doesn't show against the ground. Of course, there will be no rainbow where there is no rain (water drops) but you can see a hint of a rainbow against distant hills if rain is falling between you and the hills.
You can see the end fine but you can't stand at the end- as the mad man says.
And be careful, studying a rainbow whilst you're driving - you may see stars too, if you drive off the road!
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This was not looking through the mirror!
I didn't say that you had to look through a mirror to see a rainbow- I just said that a rainbow is a virtual image - just ;like any images you see in a mirror. It's not where you think you see it is! It's nowhere, actually.
Yes you can see an 'end' to a rainbow, often- I didn't say that either. The end will be where it meets the ground. It is a very weak colour (despite the fact that it can be breathtaking to watch ) so it doesn't show against the ground. Of course, there will be no rainbow where there is no rain (water drops) but you can see a hint of a rainbow against distant hills if rain is falling between you and the hills.
You can see the end fine but you can't stand at the end- as the mad man says.
And be careful, studying a rainbow whilst you're driving - you may see stars too, if you drive off the road!
Thank you you cleared up the first part makes better sense , but why could I see the different colored lights in the front of my car as I approached that point. It makes sense it was kinda a illusion as When I passed the point where I seen it and looked from the side mirror to the front window again, It was well ahead of me as if I had driven through it.. LOL I am sorry I misunderstood your first post,, me wee brain is not quite getting it just yet ! LOL.. I have to think harder on it! LOL!
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I think the explanation is that the distance can appear to be more or less anything that your brain wants to perceive it to be (although I have always seen it 'at infinity', myself).
The apparent ' bow' that you see just HAS to be part of a cone - or the light just wouldn't be getting to your eye.
As far as you memory of a particular experience goes - with the greatest respect, it can be very confusing as to what you actually saw. Unfortunately, it would be virtually impossible to recreate the exact conditions. All I can suggest is that, next time you see a nice substantial rainbow, you try to fit what you are seeing to my idea of an apparent 'cone' of colours. It may make more more sense to you.
Of course, because it has to be with Sun behind you, it makes it harder to suss out the geometry.
Good luck.
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Thanks so much for trying to explain and it did go alondg way to doing that I appreciate your time and determination. I will keep this and continue to think about it! Thanks a bunch!
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Wow.. I wish I could drive through a rainbow! I've only seen them really far away! Never too close to be even a mile away. Probably about 10-20miles..
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Well apparently it was the illusion of driving through one .. weird I don't get it!HEE HEE HEE I am delusional..LOL Just kidding!! My humor s***s..LOL
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Nah your humour is GREAT [;D]
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You are a nice young man!!! Humor the old women will ya!!! LOL
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Odd, huh.. Humour = English.. Humor = American.. I hate those odd spelling differences between English and American! [;)]
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The english way looks prettier Like french really!
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LOL.. I guess so.. [;)] Do Americans use a -ze more and english use a -se more?
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Well - WE were there first!. . . .
(with the greatest respect)
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I don't know Seany..
LOL, LOL
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LOL. I mean like fantasize or fantasise.. Or realise or realise.. Or enterprize or enterprise. Or..
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I think we use a lot of both.
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Yup.. Same in England.. I get told off by my English teacher for using -se though! I thought england use -se and americans use -ze.. Duno!
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realize and fantasize
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Is that what you use?
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Hi Karen, have posted my experience on your thread too because it adds credence to your initial post and means that at least three of us now are completely bonkers or you, my wife and I saw the end of a rainbow.
http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=18551.msg208231#msg208231
Hi peoples something very strange happened to my wife and I while driving back from Torquay yesterday after taking the dogs for a walk. It started to rain. So what?-- I hear you say, it does that a lot in the UK. And I agree it certainly does rain a lot but this was very different. Two magnificent rainbows appeared side by side right in front of the car and we drove right through the end of one of the rainbows.
This is a first for both of us. The road was coloured in a line in front of us, almost like the road had changed into all the colours of the rainbow. It was one of those days you wished you had a camera.
It was truly spectacular.
When we were kids we used to play in the quarry and spray the hosepipe into the air to form a fine mist, this provided us with an artificial rainbow keeping us entertained for half an hour or so.
Hmm just remembered we used to collect phosphorous rocks and thrown them down the road when it was dark that was pretty amazing too come to think of it, anyways back on track.
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An amusing youtube video on this topic
She can't be serious, no one can be that stupid, can they?
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Hi. I'm from Hawaii and I'd like to say that I'm glad I found this message board discussing passing through a rainbow. I was recently at Discover.com message board where someone asked if it was possible to pass through a rainbow and most of the posters there discounted it saying that it was an impossibility. I did post something but now the link to that site has been replaced. Anyway, I want to add that I've also experienced passing through a rainbow twice. The first one was the most vivid. It was just an amazing experience seeing all the colors around you. I was driving downhill at that time and there was another car in front of me that passed through it first. The second time I experienced it was on the freeway. I know another person personally who claimed he has experienced it. So there, add me to the few (maybe many?)who have passed through a rainbow.
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Aloha Cris12 Welcome to the NS forum and hope you stay for a while.
Thanks for adding your own experience traveling through the end of a rainbow.
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Aloha Andrew. Thank you for welcoming me. I’ve just gotten up (Christmas morning) and I’ve just finished reading one of your links (Jenniverse.com), which was a very interesting read. I don’t know if you’ve gone to the message forum at Discover.com that is also discussing the end of the rainbow. Here is the link if you’re interested:
http://community.discovery.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9701967776/m/5111941998/p/2
As you may know, Hawaii is place full of rainbows. I see at least one almost every day. There are days when the rainbows would seem to fall on the freeway rush traffic and as I drive towards it I'd hope to experience passing through the end of the rainbow again. But the rainbow would just stay so tantalizingly out of reach.
There are too many skeptics who are too sure of themselves but we who have experienced it just can’t deny what was an amazing phenomenon.
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Cris 12
Are you saying you have or have not seen this phenomenon?
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sophie,
On my first post (about 3 rungs up), I'm relating my experience with going through the end of a rainbow. The first one happened 11 years ago and the second, about 8 years ago. I've written them up in my journal, by the way.
On my second post, I'm just saying that there are lots of rainbows where I'm from but I haven't experienced it again since then; although, there were occasions where I thought it would happen again. So to answer your question, I have seen this phenomena. [:)]
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And were you walking or in a car?
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Driving, in a car.
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This confirms my view that the appearance of a rainbow may be due to something local to the car. For instance, the wheels throw up spray which could cause a partial bow to appear locally, which would be very close to the observer. Bright sunlight and very dark clouds in the background could lead to a very striking and 'contrasty' rainbow. A very intense experience which could constitute a more compex illusion. The angle would be the same for the arc but the place where the arc 'touched the ground' could be different for each end of the bow.
The mundane explanation has to be preferable to a 'magical' one, boring as it may be.
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So how do you explain that I could see the rainbow where it landed from about 50 yards away and it stayed where it was as I approached it and passed through it? Also, the road wasn’t wet so my wheels weren’t throwing up sprays.
One other person claimed to have gotten out of the car and stood in the colors. You probably don’t believe her but I’ll give her the benefit of a doubt. Here is a link to her illustration of her experience.
http://jenniverse.com/impossible%20things%20rainbow.html
You’ll have to try a little harder to convince me I didn’t see what I saw. You might as well tell me that I don’t exist. [;D]
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OK.. Heres some things that happened that day.. earlier while I was at school watching the rainbow with the last kids... It had rained like a half hour or so before.. not hard mind you just a tad.. and when I said goodbye to the kids and locked up it had to have been about 45 minutes to an hour of time elapsed since the rain and the incident in the car..with the rainbow! The only time I couldn't see the top of the arch was as I passed through it it was over the solid top of my car.. when I leaned out there was still an arch over head but I could only see so far because of the car top! The colors on top were not visible to me fom inside the car but I could still see it on my van and owhen I slowly came out of it it was still behind me bu8t I still saw another further away and was confused as to if I was seeing another or the same.. The image behind me was still there it did not move as everyone states that they do! I am not uncertain of that the bow of colors came down almost to the ground in front of the bushes not behind them or beyond them right in front of them.. and by the way It was not raining anymore that had quit when the kids and I went out to see the rainbow before and there was no road splash as the road had already dried up in the sun before I came along... There was however still water on the bushes and grass on the side of the road... you could see it was still damp! The road held no splash up though!
I understand what sophie is saying it just does not fit into the explanation as I saw it so I reall don't get it! I have seen other rainbows that I tried to see the end.. Hasn't everyone? But They indeed did all move away or seem too as we tried to get closer and then they were just gone or just staying out of reach.. This one however did not move and was very clear and very defined and I was shocked as I came down the road to see its end ahead of me the closer I got the bigger it seemed and more vibrant in color and as I slowed to drive through the end was to the right of the front side passenger side of my car I would say it was within two feet of the ground.. just under my hip height if I were to guess... right in front of the bushes as I could see the colors reflecting on the bush as it came down.. I wish I could show you what I mean..
Take a huge sheet of clear plastic paint a rainbow across it with like a water color base so you could still see through it.. then stand it in front of a bush on the ground.. That would be as close as I could explain it to you!
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Sophie no one is saying it is a magical experience. We are just stating exactly what we saw. A rainbow that was not circular that touched the ground on at least one end and did not move as we approached it but grew in size the closer we got. People were walking around outside with colours drizzled all over them. The area was much brighter than outside of the rainbow end. We drove very slowly though the vibrant colour show, marvelling in the beauty of what lay before us.
If anyone up to the point my wife and I experienced this had claimed you could reach the end of a rainbow. I too would have said that I would have to see it for myself before I could believe it.
The answer might be found in the double rainbow, somehow combining the light from both of them into a central focal point, so that light is hitting the same spot from two sources. Just a guess but there must be a logical answer somewhere for what we all saw.
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Akf.
Have you seen and understood how the rainbow is formed? There are dozens of links plus many old School textbooks with diagrams.
You haven't made it clear whether you were in a car?
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Yes we were in a car. http://forums.mokata.net/ar/t6327.htm However several others I have found were able to walk through it. The people who were walking though the one my wife and I saw were bathed in colours and the light was golden. Yes I do understand that the rainbow is an illusion. But this one was a bloody good one.
Not hard to understand really when one looks at a crystal pendant reflecting light around our homes from the sunlight outside the home, it does not need a window to do this so why does our rainbow require us to be in a car?
Alf
Have you seen and understood how the rainbow is formed? There are dozens of links plus many old School textbooks with diagrams.
You haven't made it clear whether you were in a car?
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A normal rainbow follows the 'laws' strictly. I am looking for some additional factor which would modify the appearance to allow it not to appear circular as with a normal bow.
Crystal pendants operate in a totally different way, producing a real image on a surface. If you understand the difference between real and virtual images how can bring that phenomenon into the discussion? If you don't understand, then read about them - it shouldn't compromise any of your principles to find out something like that - and you may see what I am getting at.
Let's try some proper Science, for a change.
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I'm thinking it has something to do with the light passing through droplets to create two rainbows. Maybe having the light go through the droplets from two sources such as a reflection from one other source has something to do with it? Has the light passing through the droplets been split into two sources?
All I do know for sure about this phenomenon is that I saw what I saw and so did my wife.
A normal rainbow follows the 'laws' strictly. I am looking for some additional factor which would modify the appearance to allow it not to appear circular as with a normal bow.
Crystal pendants operate in a totally different way, producing a real image on a surface. If you understand the difference between real and virtual images how can bring that phenomenon into the discussion? If you don't understand, then read about them - it shouldn't compromise any of your principles to find out something like that - and you may see what I am getting at.
Let's try some proper Science, for a change.
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wow! thats quite an experience...i have seen many but never had the luck or opportunity to walk right through it...it must have been an awesome experience for you!
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spooky is a word that could be used to describe the colours that were providing an eye feast for us.
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I'm thinking it has something to do with the light passing through droplets to create two rainbows. Maybe having the light go through the droplets from two sources such as a reflection from one other source has something to do with it? Has the light passing through the droplets been split into two sources?
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow)
The diagrams are fair. In both / all cases, the rainbows are virtual images and occur nowhere in particular - or you could say, infinity, as that is where the object (The Sun) is situated.
This is why I am looking for some extra influence which could have modified the apparent position of what you and other people have seen. For instance, the presence of a wet windscreen etc..
Now a photograph, taken by - not of someone who actually is having your experience, would be interesting. I think it may be a bit like ectoplasm and ghosts - a very intense and pleasurable experience at times but not exactly what is happening. Seeing is not necessarily believing. Photoshop could always be made to produce any effect, too!
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Karen W. I too experience driving through a rainbow. I was a passenger in a car, driven by by mom. It happened happened about 30 years ago when I was a teenager, but I remember it well, not something easily forgotten and somehow it changes your life forever. It was a double rainbow and it covered our two-lane road like a canopy or covered bridge and went on for several blocks. it was simply, indescribably amazing and we were both in profound and utter awe. I remember wondering while it was happening if other people were seeing it too, or if it was just us. Years later, my mother described it as like "traveling through another dimension." And I couldn't have put it better. That is exactly what it felt like.
B.
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Karen W. I too experience driving through a rainbow. I was a passenger in a car, driven by by mom. It happened happened about 30 years ago when I was a teenager, but I remember it well, not something easily forgotten and somehow it changes your life forever. It was a double rainbow and it covered our two-lane road like a canopy or covered bridge and went on for several blocks. it was simply, indescribably amazing and we were both in profound and utter awe. I remember wondering while it was happening if other people were seeing it too, or if it was just us. Years later, my mother described it as like "traveling through another dimension." And I couldn't have put it better. That is exactly what it felt like.
B.
I must say.. That driving through this rainbow was a very interesting experience very beautiful in colors and fantastc to see although hard to undestand according to what I have been told by members here... their explanations do not match what I saw and experienced...I do have an open mind for trying to understand the science behind it...but that does not mean I have actually grasped the whole idea and taken them in as explanation.... there are too many differences in what I saw!
I must also say I can't say it was Life changing either but it was lovely and very cool.... certainly could not describe what I saw as if I were in another dimention... the area it covered was propbably about 20 to 30 ft in distance on the road and it was more like a rainbow colored veil
hung down where the end touched down.. a beautiful rainbows in really right in front and around me inside of the rays of its color bands....
I was enamered by it and found it really awesome but was very surprised not having had een that before.I was an adult seeing this.
I really don,,t understand it but it is a very nice memory as I do adore rainbows!
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I have also experienced driving through a rainbow. I was with my husband about 20 yrs ago driving in the Redwoods in California, U.S.. The road was very curvy and the canopy above from the trees was almost complete. Once in a while a break in the forest would allow some sun shine through here and there and the rain was mostly a drizzle. Rounding a sharp hairpin turn while climbing up the mountain road the sun on the dusty windshield made it nearly impossible to see the road for a second, but as we began turn we were suddenly bathed in a spectrum of light. We were driving very slowly on this slippery mountain road. I turned to my husband,to see if he saw the same thing,my husband was focused on the road but I saw him smiling. Then we were through it. It was probably only a few seconds of time but it seemed in slowed motion. It was very cool and I will never forget the feeling of amazement and warmth that we shared that day. When we got to the campground, next to the Pacific Ocean our friends began to tell us about this, "very brillantly colored rainbow that went right down into the trees." They could see it from the beach.
To those who do not believe-
Scientifically the spectrum can be seen when light shines through a transparent medium (like a raindrop) and undergoes partial internal reflection, and this is refracted between the angles of 40°(violet) and 42°(red). The rest of the colors fall in between. Physics tells us we can never find the end of the rainbow because if we see the rainbow we are already at the proper angle and if we move the angle will change. BUT...physics does not say that a rainbow cannot find us. (Not us personally of course). There is really no reason why, albeit the odds have got to be phenomenal, that if all the conditions were right it is possible. There are rainbows present that we don't see because our angle is wrong between the drops and the sun, so depending on where the sun is in the sky a rainbow could be anywhere.
I also want to say that I am thrilled to find this site and others who have experienced this, I knew what we saw that day was real, I just never met anyone else who experienced it too.
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I have also experienced driving through a rainbow. I was with my husband about 20 yrs ago driving in the Redwoods in California, U.S.. The road was very curvy and the canopy above from the trees was almost complete. Once in a while a break in the forest would allow some sun shine through here and there and the rain was mostly a drizzle. Rounding a sharp hairpin turn while climbing up the mountain road the sun on the dusty windshield made it nearly impossible to see the road for a second, but as we began turn we were suddenly bathed in a spectrum of light. We were driving very slowly on this slippery mountain road. I turned to my husband,to see if he saw the same thing,my husband was focused on the road but I saw him smiling. Then we were through it. It was probably only a few seconds of time but it seemed in slowed motion. It was very cool and I will never forget the feeling of amazement and warmth that we shared that day. When we got to the campground, next to the Pacific Ocean our friends began to tell us about this, "very brillantly colored rainbow that went right down into the trees." They could see it from the beach.
To those who do not believe-
Scientifically the spectrum can be seen when light shines through a transparent medium (like a raindrop) and undergoes partial internal reflection, and this is refracted between the angles of 40°(violet) and 42°(red). The rest of the colors fall in between. Physics tells us we can never find the end of the rainbow because if we see the rainbow we are already at the proper angle and if we move the angle will change. BUT...physics does not say that a rainbow cannot find us. (Not us personally of course). There is really no reason why, albeit the odds have got to be phenomenal, that if all the conditions were right it is possible. There are rainbows present that we don't see because our angle is wrong between the drops and the sun, so depending on where the sun is in the sky a rainbow could be anywhere.
I also want to say that I am thrilled to find this site and others who have experienced this, I knew what we saw that day was real, I just never met anyone else who experienced it too.
Welcome Cinda I am Karen....nice to meet you.. and I am dumbfounded that you seen the same phenomonon where you did.... That makes TWO of us in the redwoods in California...I am up in the Eureka, Arcata, Blue Lake Area, Humboldt County....U.S.A. we live in Redwoods here in Northern California! This is where I seen the same thing and Like you... I drove through it...Only took a brief moment ....a couple hundred feet and Out I came.. It was very cool and definitely made me smile...It was amazing! I know what I saw was real and it does not fit what I have been told! I am sure what I saw was the end......
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great cool
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Yes it is cool!
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Well, I have one question, have you seen the Pot of Gold?LOL just kidding, if it is already ahead of you, then there's no way you can say that you are still IN the rainbow but, you can say that you are covered or you are below it.
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Karen in the Redwoods USA-
We were on our way to Fort Bragg, to a campground near Glass Beach called "Green Acres". We were taking the highway from Willits over to Fort Bragg when it happened. Being familiar with area you can understand when I say how dark it can seem in the trees through that area because the Redwoods are so thick. And then how how as you are driving and an opening comes and you are blinded by the sun shining on the windshield. We were traveling very slowing because there was a bike race or something going on. I remember how that 30 some-odd miles took way longer because of the cars on the side of the highway in places and all the bicycles. For those who aren't familiar with that road, it is very curvy, up and down hills and solid Redwoods on both sides-oh yeah and 2 lanes, narrow. Anyway, I know what we experienced too and remember how it changed the whole level of frustration we were feeling just before it happened to something very cool. I also remember moving my arms and turning in the cab of the truck for an instant and seeing the colors on my arms and body and thinking how I felt bathed in light. Then it was over and we laughed.
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I too have had this experience about forty years ago, it did not last long and I thought about looking for the proverbial pot of gold but as the road was narrow with nowhere to park I gave up on the idea.
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I have driven through what looked like the end of a Rainbow. Is this topic still active?
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I have passed under a rainbow twice. The first time was when I was walking over a bridge with a friend back in 2001. The arc was visible at the NE corner of the bridge and the other side of the arc came to rest at what appeared to be 1/4 mile SW in the park. Once we walked under the rainbow we turned around and could see it from the other direction.
The 2nd time happened today. I was flying this time. I watched as the plane approached the rainbow and knew we would be flying under the arc. As we began to descend and cirle the airport the rainbow was visible behind us.
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A couple of years ago, I drove through the end of a rainbow, too. I told the story to some friends tonight and they didn't believe me. So I looked it up to see if it was possible. It was huge. It was at the junction of the 405 and 101 freeway in Encino. It was a huge rainbow I could see going north coming down the hill. The end of the rainbow wasn't moving, it was just smack spanning the width of the 405, the embankment and part of the onramp to the 101 freeway, going west. I thought, I'm going to drive right through the end of a rainbow! I couldn't believe it. I thought that it would disappear as I approached, but it didn't. It sparkled many colors and golden, too, like a glittery shower all around me. I slowed down to make sure I was seeing what I was seeing. Like little prisms in droplets of water on the grass of the embankment and in the sky and road around me. It was one of the most thrilling things that has ever happened to me. I read the incredulous and snarky responses to others who posted here their experiences, about "what it must have been, because it's impossible," but it happened to me, too. And it looked just like some of these pictures but was way bigger and impossible to mistake. And when I looked back, it was there behind me. And I thought about the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Certainly it was golden and beautiful. And I feel very lucky to have experienced that.
So cue the x-files music if you like. I like that music. I couldn't believe it could happen--but it did.. And I don't care what the doubters say or what they think I must have seen. They are just unlucky enough not to have experienced it. But I hope you do. this world is way more amazing to me every day! And thanks for the posters who described it. Right on target. I'm glad I looked this up. I don't usually tell about it because it sounds so fantastic, but reading the other's descriptions, I know I'm not the only one. Thanks.
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I don't believe it! How on earth could you have missed the pot of gold? I think you had a once in a lifetime experience and you MISSED THE GOLD! I have even chased down rainbows in the hope of experiencing what you did, not even knowing if it was possible to do so. [:D]
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Thank you to all of the contributors to this amazing experience. We forgot to add that our car was illuminated and we could see the colours inside the car and on people walking around who where equally amazed judging by their expressions. Paulene your descriptions reflect perfectly our experience. Airthumbs I hope you too experience this.
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I AM VERY ENCOURAGED ABOUT ALL THERESPONSES AND GREATFUL ALSO FOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE THE SCIENTIFIC ASPECT..BUT AS FOR ME...I HAVE FOUND SCIENCE FASCINATING AND YET NOT ALWAYS FULL PROOF OR FLAWLESS AND I HAVE ALSO SEEN PROVEN THEROIES USED FOR YEARS AS TRUE AND CORRECT JUST TO FIND OUT YEARS LATER THAT THE WHOLE THEORY MAY HAVE WORKED IN FAVOR OUTCOMES IN REPEATED TESTS, ETC... BUT TURN OUT TO BE WRONG AND NEW THEROIES REAPPLIED WITH NEW RESULTS..AND I THINK THAT SOMETHING LIKE THAT WILL BE TRUE IN THESE CASES..
THANK YOU GUYS FOR PARTICIPATING..MAKE SURE YOU CARRY A SHOVEL...LOL...
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Sorry to re-activate this thread but exactly this happened to me yesterday.
I was driving eastward along the a303 in England yesterday afternoon when I noticed a double rainbow. "Very pretty" I thought. After turning a bend it seemed that the rainbows were emanating from opposite sides of the road, so that I was driving into them, which in itself was pretty amazing.
I then turned another bend and to my absolute shock could see the end of the rainbow, up ahead just to the left of the road. As I got near, the end of the rainbow became part of the road itself. I was aware of passing through colours, but sadly quickly as I was travelling 70 m.p.h. at the time. What I also noticed once I had seemingly passed through, was that a beam of rainbow colour seemed to be arcing into the front of the car.
The whole experience only lasted 5-6 seconds in total, and typically and sadly I was alone so could not photograph any of this.
I know there must be a rational explanation - I am a medical doctor so not prone to magical thinking, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a magical experience.
I am actually still smiling now writing this.
I've been through the end of a rainbow!!
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... to my absolute shock could see the end of the rainbow ...
... I know there must be a rational explanation ...
Something that looked like a rainbow , but created by diffraction (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffraction#Examples) rather than dispersion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispersion_%28optics%29) , see ...
http://www.atoptics.co.uk/rainbows/notabow.htm (http://www.atoptics.co.uk/rainbows/notabow.htm)
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I can't say exactly what it was that you experienced but it's not possible for someone to actually be inside a rainbow because they don't have a particular location but only exist according to an observer, whether the observer is a camera or you eye.
After I read this more carefully I'll try to figure out exactly what it was you saw.
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I had a similar rainbow experience. I was driving along and saw a very bright rainbow, smaller than usual, and as I approached it, it appeared to begin and end in this one field. I stopped my car and got out. As I got closer it became more of a ring shape, beginning and ending not far from my feet.
I posted the above in a similar thread: http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=18551.msg423468#msg423468
Dlorde offered this explanation which I thought made sense:
"To drive or walk through a 'rainbow' effect, there has to be spray in the immediate vicinity to locally refract the light and maintain the image until you pass the edge of the cone of visibility. As others have said, it's a virtual image."
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Once upon a time I crashed into a rainbow. I got out to get its insurance details, but it just vanished in to less moist, thin air. Its going to have a smaller pot of gold once claims direct do what they do. My car was a total write off, and all I got for it in the end was a hand full of magic beans. Lucky, I was able to swap them with this guy for a cow. It sadly died though, turns out they can only go up stairs. I now have a Bovinae corpus in my bathroom thanks to this rainbow. It smells a bit, but it is fun to poke with sticks.
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lol...lol...Like poking fun at my thread! lol..Funny thing is I have been given the scientific information about how a rainbow comes to be, and also that there is no end..but none of the explanations explain how the striped color from the rainbow, was shining on my van as I drove through the rainbows end! My eyesight was good and I was not then, nor am I now a nut job...lol. I truely am, still amazed, and I will never forget it! However I would like a more scientific answer then, "you were seeing things" because rainbows don't work like that! How about I really DID see it, drive thru it, So what phenomonen may have occurred out of the ordinary which could have caused our refraction of light to actually change the outcome of the rainbows end and also allow us to see the colors on the car! Also the rainbow's color coming down in front of the bushes and on the road as I passed through it at the end.. Further more the second rainbow appeared as soon as I drove out of the color bands, and could be seen at a distance over the mountain ahead...? Scientific evidence explain that please...don't want to hear how it was all in my head when it absolutely was not!
Your story is cute...but I wont poke sticks at it....lol...
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I've walked through a rainbow created by spray from a waterfall, I perceived it to be all around me. Though, technically it was a waterfall-spraybow, lol. I do believe you!! The light is refracted by water droplets the same as light in a prism. I can walk through a prism-bow, there for, I can walk through any source of refracted light, as long as the conditions are right. In a crazy way reality is virtual, we see photons aka energy, that has bounced off matter, another kind of energy. The photons hit are cones and rods where transduction occurs. The discrimination threshold of our sight interprets the matter to be solid, even though it's mostly empty space.
Just out of curiosity, was it bellow freezing that day, or near 12:00?
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I missed this is....The time was actually closer to 6:15pm and it had been guite cold to the point of hailing before the rain down pour...it was then clear and the water was gone from the road but I was on my way home from work in the evening..and I was excited because the rainbow was about 6
minutes drive from work, to where it came down on the road by my home! about 30 ft left of the river bank, with river willow trees, bushes, and wild sweet peas .... in between river and rainbows end...