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The
Physics of Mirages
Physics 211X Fall 2010
John Dutton
11/19/2010
What is a Mirage?
http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/desert-survival-5.jpg
I tend to think of the typical movie scene, where
our hero is wondering in the scorching desert and finds an oasis. He
crawls on yearning for a drink of water to quench his prodigious
thirst, only to find more sand and the spring gone.
http://greenprophet.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/water-gaza-israel.jpg
A mirage is in fact just an optical illusion.
It's a trick that light is playing on you. It's the reflection of light
off something that tends to give the appearance of water because it
moves like waves. Often times you're looking at a reflection of a blue
sky, which provides that blue water tint.
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