Rainbow which a glass prism could separate into the full spectrum of colours, rejecting the theory that the colours were produced by a modification of white light. He also showed that red light is refracted less than blue light, which led to the first scientific explanation of the major features of the rainbow. Newton's corpuscular theory of light was unable to explain supernumerary rainbows, and a satisfactory explanation was not found until Thomas Young realised that light behaves as a wave under certain conditions, and can interfere with itself. Young's work was refined in the 1820s by George Biddell Airy, who
English ship Rainbow (1586) smaller guns. She was again reconstructed in 1628-29 at Chatham, although the work was classed as a "repair" rather than as an official rebuilding. By 1660 her armament had increased to 56 guns. She took an active role in all three Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century, participating in most of the battles of those wars, and was sunk as a breakwater at Sheerness in 1680. Citations Bibliography English ship Rainbow (1586) Rainbow was a galleon of the English Tudor navy, built at Deptford Dockyard by Peter Pett (the first of that name in this extensive family), and launched in