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538 bytes added ,  19:08, March 15, 2007
Sidestep "science", say "physics." Cite Wordsworth as authority for feelings inspired by rainbows.
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As told in [[Genesis]], a '''rainbow''' is a promise from [[God]] to [[Noah]] (and all mankind) that he will never flood the [[Earth]] again.<ref>Genesis, chapters 5-9</ref> Although science can explain the appearance of rainbows accurately as the result of refraction and multiple reflections of sunlight in droplets of water, it has difficulty explaining why they seem beautiful and evoke such feelings of awe and mystery.
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As told in [[Genesis]], a '''rainbow''' is a promise from [[God]] to [[Noah]] (and all mankind) that he will never flood the [[Earth]] again.<ref>Genesis, chapters 5-9</ref> Physics can explain the appearance of rainbows accurately as the result of refraction and multiple reflections of sunlight in droplets of water, but not the feelings of awe and spirituality inspire, as they did in William Wordsworth when he wrote:
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&nbsp;&nbsp;My heart leaps up when I behold<br>
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&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A rainbow in the sky:<br>
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&nbsp;&nbsp;So was it when my life began;<br>
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&nbsp;&nbsp;So is it now I am a man;<br>
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&nbsp;&nbsp;So be it when I shall grow old,<br>
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&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Or let me die!<br>
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&nbsp;&nbsp;The Child is father of the Man;<br>
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&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I could wish my days to be<br>
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&nbsp;&nbsp;Bound each to each by natural piety.<ref>William Wordsworth, [http://www.bartleby.com/145/ww194.html "My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold] (1802)</ref>
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Rainbows appear when water droplets are lit by direct sunlight, a condition that rarely occurs during a storm because the clouds block the sun. Rainbows are frequently seen after a storm, when the falling rain has moved into the distance and the sun is roughly behind the observer when the observer is facing the patch of rain.   
 
Rainbows appear when water droplets are lit by direct sunlight, a condition that rarely occurs during a storm because the clouds block the sun. Rainbows are frequently seen after a storm, when the falling rain has moved into the distance and the sun is roughly behind the observer when the observer is facing the patch of rain.   
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