this post was submitted on 18 Feb 2026
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Is the cross section of a cone not a circle, or semi circle in this case since we only see part of the "cone"?
This. We don't as people define a rainbow as the path of light or anything like that. We define a rainbow as a circle of colors in the sky. That's how language works.
Right, your point is taken but the point is more to explain the full portion of the rainbow. Not just the section you see.
Every person sees a rainbow in a different location because rainbows are an optical phenomenon not a real object - in that sense rainbows are occupying the entire space, not just a cone even. The expansion is dumb.
I watched Donald Duck in Mathmagic Land and you are right.
There are gaps in between the rain drops which means we see other parts of the cone. Maybe?