noon
You have probably noticed that a drop of water in the sunshine glistens , and , if closely observed , may have seen that it was colored , particularly blue or green . As the rays of the sun strike the globe of water , they produce different wave lengths , and in that way make it appear to you as being possessed of colors . Now , a rainbow is nothing more nor less than sunlight passing through the drops of water which are suspended in the air and causing a refraction of the light . At noon the sun shines down from overhead , and we are not in the proper position to see this refracted light ; but in the morning or in the evening the sun shines against the earth at an angle . At those times we are able to see the effect of refraction by the colors produced . -LSB- Illustration : _ Fig. 7 . THE COLOR SPECTRUM _ -RSB- -LSB- Illustration : _ Fig. 8 .