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The reason for this apparent reduction in sky brightness is that, while light from the sky enclosed within the primary bow comes from droplet reflection, and light beyond the secondary bow also comes from droplet reflection, there is no mechanism for the region between the bows to reflect light in the direction of the observer. Generally ...
Water reflects light very differently from typical terrestrial materials. The reflectivity of a water surface is calculated using the Fresnel equations. At the scale of the wavelength of light even wavy water is always smooth so the light is reflected in a locally specular manner (not diffusely). The glint of light off water is a commonplace ...
Diagram showing displacement of the Sun's image at sunrise and sunset Comparison of inferior and superior mirages due to differing air refractive indices, n. Atmospheric refraction is the deviation of light or other electromagnetic wave from a straight line as it passes through the atmosphere due to the variation in air density as a function of height. [1]
Water at the top of the troposphere, particularly in liquid and solid states, cools as it emits net photons to space. Neighboring gas molecules other than water (e.g. nitrogen) are cooled by passing their heat kinetically to the water. This is why temperatures at the top of the troposphere (known as the tropopause) are about -50 degrees Celsius.
The light at the back of the raindrop does not undergo total internal reflection, and most of the light emerges from the back. However, light coming out the back of the raindrop does not create a rainbow between the observer and the Sun because spectra emitted from the back of the raindrop do not have a maximum of intensity, as the other ...
The effect is created by the reflection of light from tiny ice crystals that are suspended in the atmosphere or that comprise high-altitude clouds (e.g. cirrostratus or cirrus clouds). [1] If the light comes from the Sun (usually when it is near or even below the horizon), the phenomenon is called a sun pillar or solar pillar.
Light from the sky at a shallow angle to the road is refracted by the index gradient, making it appear as if the sky is reflected by the road's surface. This might appear as a pool of liquid (usually water, but possibly others, such as oil) on the road, as some types of liquid also reflect the sky.
The Rayleigh sky model describes the observed polarization pattern of the daytime sky. Within the atmosphere, Rayleigh scattering of light by air molecules, water, dust, and aerosols causes the sky's light to have a defined polarization pattern. The same elastic scattering processes cause the sky to be blue.