Is the glass half full or half empty?  Usually, you see what your eyes want you to see.  When you are focused on something, you don't really pay attention to what else is around you, rather you just see what it is you are focused on.  When asked what design makes up the floor you walk on at work, you may not have the slightest idea.  This may be because you go there to work, not to examine the details of your workplace.  When looking at optical illusions, your eyes also see what your mind wants you to see, even though the reality may be something completely opposite.  Take a look at some optical illusions taken from "Optical Illusions and Visual Phenomena."


What about all the things that we do see which seem out of the ordinary?  Is the view of a mirage seen because we want to see it?  If you wander through this website, you will understand, generally, the physics of certain illusions that aren't there just because your mind wants you to see them.  There are also other explanations, not related to physics, that some people believe are the cause of some strange occurences.  For example, a car in neutral is able to roll uphill in some areas; some people believe this is because of the occurences of the past in those areas.  Whatever it is you believe, you will at least have a physical explanation for most of the unusual happenings this earth surprises us with.
All over the world you can find nature's wonder of illusions and unusual conditions that only physics can explain, with the exception of individual spiritual beliefs.  Within this website, you will learn of the green flash, the red sunset, a mirage, rolling uphill, the huge moon, weird ice formations, and other such incidents of unusual activity.




Jessica Hunt, Physics 212- Section F01, University of Alaska Fairbanks