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What causes the rainbow in the classic water and mirror experiment?
Updated: 11-Apr-2025

When sunlight hits a mirror placed in water at the right angle, the light bends (refracts) and reflects, separating into a spectrum of colors. This happens because each color of light bends slightly differently.

The process mimics how rainbows form in nature when sunlight passes through raindrops. This simple experiment shows how white light is made up of many colors and introduces the concept of light dispersion and reflection.

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