The Riddle of the Rainbow : From Early Legends and Symbolism to the Secrets of Light and Colour

Rainbows have been a source of fascination since time immemorial. They have been the subject of myth and superstition, an inspiration to poets, a challenge to painters, the object of intense scientific interest and a touchstone for ideas about the nature of light and colour. Above all, the rainbow has been the embodiment of wonder from the earliest times to the present day. Beginning with the circumstances in which you are likely to see a rainbow and descriptions of its salient features, this book recounts and explains the myths and superstitions about rainbows, and describes how poets, painters and, above all, leading scientists in every age have sought to discover and understand the rainbow’s secrets. Readers with a love of nature and art and an interest in the history of science will enjoy this attractive and informative book. Acknowledgements 8 Contents 9 1 Why Rainbows? 10 2 The Naming of Parts 16 3 Tales from the Haunted Air 30 4 From Myth to Mathematics 54 5 The Geometry of Light 77 6 The Celebrated Phenomena of Colours 112 7 New Wine in Old Bottles 145 8 Unweaving the Rainbow 178 9 The Electric Rainbow 213 10 In the Eye of the Beholder 253 Appendix 278 Twenty-Four Rainbows to See Before You Die 278 Tips on Photographing a Rainbow 279 Some Experiments with Rainbows 279 Caustic Surfaces 280 Polarisation of Rainbows 281 References 282 Index 296