The path followed by the light depends on the properties of the medium in which it moves. For example, when light passes from water to air its direction changes, whereas when traveling without changing medium it goes straight.
The density of the medium affects the movement of the light; well, technically it is due to the atoms and their disposition, but for us density is a sufficiently good approximation. The funny thing happens when density changes smoothly as when there is cold air at the bottom and hot air at the top.
This always happens, but only on large scales. When it occurs at small scales, the effects become visible and we find the mirage, which is nothing but light that is where it should not be. Like in a very hot day when the asphalt is more heated of what the sun heats the atmosphere. As the light goes through layers of less and less dense air it keeps bending until the light that comes from the sky begins to travel from the bottom to the top; as you can see in the image.
When this happens, our brain receives images from the sky as if they came from the earth and automatically decides that that blue light we observe is on the ground. And of course, something blue, which moves due to convective air currents … our brain quickly assimilates it to water. Mirage for sure to come! And the answer to this is that mirages are quite definitely physical artifacts which are out there in the world and not artifacts of our visual system. And so cameras record them very happily: an image search will show many examples.
The eye and the camera work with the same optics, the camera registers on the film, the eye on the retina. The mirage of an iceberg.
Another iceberg mirage. Lots of mirage photos. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? This always happens, but only on large scales. When it occurs at small scales, the effects become visible and we find the mirage, which is nothing but light that is where it should not be.
Like in a very hot day when the asphalt is more heated of what the sun heats the atmosphere. More Info: tripandtravelblog. Test your knowledge. We use cookies and collect some information about you to enhance your experience of our site; we use third-party services to provide social media features, to personalize content and ads, and to ensure the website works properly. Learn more about your data on Quizzclub or change your preferences right away. We use cookies and collect some information about you to enhance your experience of our site ; we use third-party services to provide social media features, to personalize content and ads, and to ensure the website works properly.
Learn more about your data on Quizzclub. OK Set preferences. Can a mirage be photographed? Sounds a very dubious claim to me Nov 8, PM. Dec 2, AM. Marian Spitzig. How can something not real be photographed. Sep 27, PM. Chandran David. Its a great experience to see the mirage! May 19, PM.
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