- NEW!
by scymitar72 on June 10th, 2005
First of all, oil and water don't mix - they agree to peacefully coexist! Tiny drops of oil can become suspended in water, but they will eventually find their way to the surface and float.
What you're seeing is light being refracted by the oil diffently from water.
What is refraction you say?
An interesting pheomenon occurs when light travels from one transparent material to another; light beams actually change directions. This bending at the surface of transparent objects is called refraction. Refraction can be looked at much the same way as reflection.
Rainbows are caused by another aspect of refraction called dispersion. Light waves of different frequencies (colors) bend different amounts. In most cases, this is not noticable, but prisms make use of this to spread out the spectrum so we can see all of the colors. Violet light bends the most, with each color bending a little less up to red, which bends the least.
-http://library.thinkquest.org/13405/index.html
Anyway - I think this is right because how we see things is all about how light reflects/refracts off/through stuff?
When did desalination start?
by Answerbag Staff on January 11th, 2011
| 1 person likes this
WHY DOES WATER EVAPORATE FASTER THEN JUICE
by BENJAMIN1423 on November 15th, 2011
| 1 person likes this
What should the pH of reverse osmosis be?
by Answerbag Staff on January 11th, 2011
| 1 person likes this
What is a substance that forms in water to become a mineral?
by Answerbag Staff on January 11th, 2011
| 1 person likes this
What is a way to boil water without a stove or sunlight?
by plantedbystreams on December 13th, 2011
| 5 people like this
You're reading Why does oil create a rainbow film when mixed with water?
Your favorite Q&A site is on Facebook! Become a fan to connect with the ever-growing community of Answerbaggers, share your thoughts and find out what Answerbag's up to next!
Comments
The process that produces the colors is called "interference"
by mike scholtes on June 17th, 2005
Read up on the usage of the words "your" and "you're" please.
by Anonymous on July 25th, 2005