WELCOME TO LEVEL TWORainbows, Prisms, & Spectra: Page 2.1 |
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Good day to you. My name is Copernicus. I am one of the astronomers who will guide you through these activities about light. So today, you will be an apprentice astronomer, that is, one who learns astronomy by doing something helpful. I come from Poland. In 1543 I published a book, based on my idea that the sun, our main source of light and warmth, is at the center of the solar system. This changed the fifteen-hundred-year-old belief that the sun went around the Earth. In order to be an astronomer, it is important to understand light.
Observing things in nature is very important. For example, when sunlight reflects off of the water
droplets in on a misty day,
the light Note: The underlined words in this page are links to a glossary where you can read their definitions. The bending is called refraction, and when this happens with many water droplets, you see a rainbow. Here is a picture of sunlight passing through raindrops to make a rainbow.
To Do: What colors do you see in the rainbow? Write them down, and note in what order they appear. You can make a rainbow
at home by spraying water from a hose
Next: I have heard of a thing called a prism that can also bend light to make rainbows. You, fortunately, live in a time when these things are known, and can easily find out from others who came after me. Please click the Next button to see Mr. Newton and learn about prisms. |
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to reveal the colors that it is made of. I am very interested in
this, and would like you to help me learn more about it. Please keep
a record of your studies in your notebook for me.
or spray bottle 
into the air. If you stand with your back to the sun, you can
see a rainbow in the mist coming from the hose or bottle. Make sure that the water lands on grass or some other
plants so that you don't waste water when you do this activity.