Why are rainbows ark shaped?

Question

I know that light has to pass through a prism to create the spectrum, but, i also know that light travels in straight lines, so, how is a rainbow so curved?

Answer 1

here is a website all about rainbows

Answer 2

All the light is coming from one point - the sun.  The sun's light shines in a sort of "cone", with the sun at the tip of the cone.  The cross-section of a cone is a circle - caused by a "sheet" of rain/moisture reflecting the sun's light.  Ergo, a rainbow is an arc of a circle, and is curved to our eyes.

Answer 3

That's because the sunlight strikes us as a cone. Imagine sitting inside a sphere.. the points where a cone would touch the sphere would be a circle. In case of rainbows we get to see only a part of the complete circle.

Answer 4

Did you mean to say arc rather than ark?

A rainbow is part of a circle whose center is 180 degrees away from the sun.