Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
Answer the following question in detail.
Explain the formation of a secondary rainbow. For which angular range with the horizontal is it visible?
Advertisements
Solution
- A ray AB incident from Sun (white light) strikes the lower portion of a water drop at an incident angle i.
- On entering into the water, it deviates and disperses into constituent colours. The figure shows the extreme colours (violet and red).

Formation of secondary rainbow - Refracted rays BV and BR finally emerge the drop from V' and R' after suffering two internal reflections and can be seen by an observer on the ground.
- Minimum deviation rays of red and violet colour are inclined to the ground level at θR ≈ 51° and θV ≈ 53° respectively. As a result, in the rainbow, the violet is above and red is below.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
Give a scientific reason:
Danger signal lights are red in colour.
Fill in the blank:
Very fine particles mainly scatter ………… colored light.
Why does unpolarised light from a source show a variation in intensity when viewed through a polaroid which is rotated?
Why does the Sun look reddish at sunset or sunrise ?
In the meterbridge experimental set up, shown in the figure, the null point ‘D’ is obtained at a distance of 40 cm from end A of the meterbridge wire. If a resistance of 10Ω is connected in series with R1, null point is obtained at AD = 60 cm. Calculate the values of R1 and R2.
Describe briefly using a diagram how sunlight is polarised ?
A parallel beam of light is incident on a converging lens parallel to its principal axis. As one moves away from the lens on the other side on its principal axis, the intensity of light
A convex lens is made of a material having refractive index
\[1 \cdot 2\] Both the surfaces of the lens are convex. If it is dipped into water (μ = 1.33), it will behave like
A point object O is placed on the principal axis of a convex lens of focal length f = 20 cm at a distance of 40 cm to the left of it. The diameter of the lens is 10 cm. An eye is placed 60 cm to right of the lens and a distance h below the principal axis. The maximum value of h to see the image is
A concave mirror having a radius of curvature 40 cm is placed in front of an illuminated point source at a distance of 30 cm from it. Find the location of the image.
A 1 cm object is placed perpendicular to the principal axis of a convex mirror of focal length 7.5 cm. Find its distance from the mirror if the image formed is 0.6 cm in size.
A candle flame 1.6 cm high is imaged in a ball bearing of diameter 0.4 cm. If the ball bearing is 20 cm away from the flame, find the location and the height of the image.
A 3 cm tall object is placed at a distance of 7.5 cm from a convex mirror of focal length 6 cm. Find the location, size and nature of the image.
An optical fibre (μ = 1.72) is surrounded by a glass coating (μ = 1.50). Find the critical angle for total internal reflection at the fibre-glass interface.
Fill in the blank and rewrite the completed statement:
Very fine particles mainly scatter ______ light.
Answer the following question in detail.
State the conditions under which a rainbow can be seen.
A plano-convex lens is made of material having refractive index 1.5. The radius of curvature of curved surface is 40 cm. The focal length of the lens is ____________ cm.
State any one difference between a primary rainbow and a secondary rainbow.
Explain the formation of primary and secondary rainbow.
| Case study: Mirage in deserts |
![]() |
|
To a distant observer, the light appears to be coming from somewhere below the ground. The observer naturally assumes that light is being reflected from the ground, say, by a pool of water near the tall object. Such inverted images of distant tall objects cause an optical illusion to the observer. This phenomenon is called mirage. This type of mirage is especially common in hot deserts. Based on the above facts, answer the following question: |
Which of the following phenomena is prominently involved in the formation of mirage in deserts?
| Case study: Mirage in deserts |
![]() |
|
To a distant observer, the light appears to be coming from somewhere below the ground. The observer naturally assumes that light is being reflected from the ground, say, by a pool of water near the tall object. Such inverted images of distant tall objects cause an optical illusion to the observer. This phenomenon is called mirage. This type of mirage is especially common in hot deserts. Based on the above facts, answer the following question : |
A diver at a depth 12 m inside water `(a_(µω) = 4/3)` sees the sky in a cone of semi-vertical angle
| Case study: Mirage in deserts |
![]() |
|
To a distant observer, the light appears to be coming from somewhere below the ground. The observer naturally assumes that light is being reflected from the ground, say, by a pool of water near the tall object. Such inverted images of distant tall objects cause an optical illusion to the observer. This phenomenon is called mirage. This type of mirage is especially common in hot deserts. Based on the above facts, answer the following question : |
In an optical fibre, if n1 and n2 are the refractive indices of the core and cladding, then which among the following, would be a correct equation?
The sky would appear red instead of blue if


