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Here's a breakdown of how and why it all happens. But the science behind a blue sky isn't that easy. For starters, it involves something called the Rayleigh effect, or Rayleigh scattering.
[10] [11] The blue iris is an example of a structural color because it relies only on the interference of light through the turbid medium to generate the color. Blue eyes and brown eyes, therefore, are anatomically different from each other in a genetically non-variable way because of the difference between turbid media and melanin.
The blue sky spectrum contains light at all visible wavelengths with a broad maximum around 450–485 nm, the wavelengths of the color blue. Diffuse sky radiation is solar radiation reaching the Earth's surface after having been scattered from the direct solar beam by molecules or particulates in the atmosphere.
Rayleigh scattering causes the blue color of the daytime sky and the reddening of the Sun at sunset. Rayleigh scattering (/ ˈ r eɪ l i / RAY-lee) is the scattering or deflection of light, or other electromagnetic radiation, by particles with a size much smaller than the wavelength of the radiation.
[10] Apart from the Sun, distant clouds or snowy mountaintops may appear yellow. The effect is not very obvious on clear days, but is very pronounced when clouds cover the line of sight, reducing the blue hue from scattered sunlight. [10] At higher altitudes, the sky tends toward darker colors since scattering is reduced due to lower air density.
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.
The clear daytime sky and the deep sea appear blue because of an optical effect known as Rayleigh scattering. An optical effect called the Tyndall effect explains blue eyes. Distant objects appear more blue because of another optical effect called aerial perspective. Blue has been an important colour in art and decoration since ancient times.
The color azure ultimately takes its name from the vivid-blue gemstone lapis lazuli, a metamorphic rock. Lapis is the Latin word for "stone" and lāzulī is the genitive form of the Medieval Latin lāzulum , which is taken from the Arabic لازورد lāzaward [laːzwrd] ( listen ⓘ ), itself from the Persian لاژورد lāžaward , which ...