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

Description

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 Contents 1 Why Rainbows? 2 The Naming of Parts 3 Tales from the Haunted Air 4 From Myth to Mathematics 5 The Geometry of Light 6 The Celebrated Phenomena of Colours 7 New Wine in Old Bottles 8 Unweaving the Rainbow 9 The Electric Rainbow 10 In the Eye of the Beholder Appendix Twenty-Four Rainbows to See Before You Die Tips on Photographing a Rainbow Some Experiments with Rainbows Caustic Surfaces Polarisation of Rainbows References Index