Braiding Rainbows is a computer program (for Windows and PC only) that makes patterns on screen with rainbow colours. It uses methods and techniques normally associated with church bell ringing to mix the colours up and return them to rainbow order again. In other words, it uses bell ringing methods to "ring" with colours instead of actual bells.
The rainbow colours used by Braiding Rainbows are as accurate as possible, based on actual wavelengths and the way the eye perceives colour.
Braiding Rainbows uses a special purpose scripting language called PNDL (Place Notation Description Language) to generate the place notation that is used to mix up the colours. It was necessary to be able to be able to describe each method used without knowing the number of "bells" in advance.
The Program
The History of Braiding Rainbows
How it Started - The Screensaver
How it started - Designing PNDL
Glossary of Bell Ringing Terms (external)
Plain Hunt 171
Stedman 161
Brampton Surprise 1860
The program can be enjoyed by anyone who likes to watch pretty coloured moving patterns, but the techniques used should also be of considerable interest to bell ringers, and hopefully may challenge some long-held conventions about the methods used. Here are a few more screenshots from the program...
London Surprise 1916
Isaac O'Shea Little 80
Chalfont Slow Course 80
Cambridge Cyclic 60