SCIENCE | What if? Rainbow is a form of transportation?

Text by Rainier Acosta | Graphics by Nikka Gutierrez | Layout by Joaquin Umali

Not a train, not an airplane – it’s an arc of seven colors that descends whenever the sky begins to cry and the sun smiles in secret behind the clouds. At the meeting of light and rain, a prism woven by nature’s hand emerges. They say it’s just an optical phenomenon, but what if something more? What if the rainbow is a form of transportation?

What if the rainbow is not only a result of a physical occurrence, but a magical slide that guides you to your destination? This form of transportation requires no machines, wheels, or noise—instead, it moves through hope and imagination. Each hue represents a different route not only leading you to a different location, but making each trip a unique adventure.

The Science Behind the Spectrum

Behind every rainbow lies the astonishing science of refraction, reflection, and dispersion. The light from the sun hits the tiny raindrop in the sky, which refracts as it enters the droplet. Subsequently, the light reflects off the inner surface of the droplet and is refracted again as it exits. In this process, white light disperses into different colors- red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. This serves as proof that behind every beauty lies the science that explains it.

A Ride Beyond Reality

Imagine that a rainbow is not just woven from light but a ride- a secret portal that opens between rain and sun. In every moment that the sky cries while the sun secretly smiles a road creates - an arc that invites to fly and slide.

Each color and end of the rainbow can lead to a place of memory, dream, or a new beginning. For children, it can be their way to a magic kingdom. For elders, it can be a shortcut to their way home or to the heart of their loved ones. And for those who are lost, it can be the direction to something they’ve long been searching for, depending on the color.

The Ticket

How do you get on? In an ordinary trip, there is a ticket price or fare, but in a rainbow ride, you don’t need anything from your pocket- it’s free. The only ticket you need is belief—found within your heart. Belief that even if science calls it just an optical illusion, it can still be a doorway to wherever you want to go. It’s not something you can see or hold, but the moment you close your eyes and begin to dream, you take the ride.

Alongside faith comes hope — the kind of hope that stays even when you’re tired, the kind that still trusts a rainbow will appear after the rain. And more than anything, you need imagination — that childlike part of you that whispers, “It’s possible,” even after you’ve been told “no” so many times. Because in this world of fast-paced technology and hard truths, the rainbow ride is a gentle reminder that there are still journeys waiting for us... if we just choose to believe.

If Rainbows Were Real Rides…

What if it’s true? What if every rainfall isn’t just a time for gloom or cold, but an invitation to a different kind of journey? A ride not meant to escape reality, but to understand more deeply what truly matters.

Imagine with every drizzle, we get a chance to ride—not a train, a plane, or a bus, but an arc of light and color. No engines, no noise, no traffic. Maybe the rainbow is not just a scientific phenomenon hanging in the sky. Maybe it’s a sign. A sign that wonder still exists. That even in a world so structured—full of deadlines, rules, and routines—there are still things we don’t need to explain to believe in.

At times, it's not the usual fuel or metal that drives us forward. Sometimes, all we need is color, light, and a little bit of magic. Because the most unforgettable journeys aren’t always about reaching a place. Sometimes, the journey itself is what we’ve been looking for all along.