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I like how in the first image that guy is in an ‘absolutely pissed about it’ stance
Is the cross section of a cone not a circle, or semi circle in this case since we only see part of the “cone”?
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.
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.
But why is it at that distance specifically? Can I get closer to a rainbow and see it become bigger? Why is there a 42° angle in the picture?
That’s the angle at which light is reflected by water droplets. The drawing is incorrect in that the cone is horizontal while the light appears to come from a higher angle. The cone is always directly opposite to the direction of the light source. Here’s a better drawing, with more reading about what exactly is going on.
