Overview
- Gives a readable and up-to-date description and explanation of the rainbow
- Includes a wealth of information about the rainbow’s cultural symbolism in myth, art, and literature
- Traces the history of optics from ancient Greece to the present time
Part of the book series: Copernicus Books (CB)
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About this book
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.
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Keywords
Table of contents (10 chapters)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
After studying engineering and philosophy at the University of London, John Naylor taught physics in secondary schools for the next thirty years. He retired from teaching in order to pursue his interests in atmospheric optics and acoustics. He is the author of “Out of the Blue, a 24-hour Skywatcher’s Guide”, a guide to the vast range of optical and astronomical phenomena that can be seen in the sky, day and night, and “Now Hear This, A Book About Sound”.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: The Riddle of the Rainbow
Book Subtitle: From Early Legends and Symbolism to the Secrets of Light and Colour
Authors: John Naylor
Series Title: Copernicus Books
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23908-3
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Physics and Astronomy, Physics and Astronomy (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-23907-6Published: 30 March 2023
eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-23908-3Published: 29 March 2023
Series ISSN: 2731-8982
Series E-ISSN: 2731-8990
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIII, 304
Number of Illustrations: 50 b/w illustrations, 17 illustrations in colour
Topics: Optics, Lasers, Photonics, Optical Devices, Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology, History and Philosophical Foundations of Physics, Atmospheric Sciences, Anthropology, Evolutionary Biology