7. There are many optical phenomena in the sky. To name 3: rainbows, sundogs and mirages. Explain fully how each one if formed, including how they are the same or different. Why do we only see a rainbow on the earth but in a plane, you can see a whole circle is one of the thing that should be explained.
Solution
Rainbow-
A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc.
Sundogs-
Sundogs, parhelia, are formed by plate crystals high in the cirrus clouds that occur world-wide. In cold climates the plates can also be in ground level as diamond dust.
Mirages-
Its formation is a result of the refraction and the total internal reflection of light in the air. To investigate the formation of a mirage, we firstly need to understand why light is refracted in the air. Regions of air at different temperatures have different refractive indexes, just like many different mediums.
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7- There are many optical phenomena in the sky- To name 3- rainbows- s.docx
1. 7. There are many optical phenomena in the sky. To name 3: rainbows, sundogs and mirages.
Explain fully how each one if formed, including how they are the same or different. Why do we
only see a rainbow on the earth but in a plane, you can see a whole circle is one of the thing that
should be explained.
Solution
Rainbow-
A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion
of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of
a multicoloured circular arc.
Sundogs-
Sundogs, parhelia, are formed by plate crystals high in the cirrus clouds that occur world-wide.
In cold climates the plates can also be in ground level as diamond dust.
Mirages-
Its formation is a result of the refraction and the total internal reflection of light in the air. To
investigate the formation of a mirage, we firstly need to understand why light is refracted in the
air. Regions of air at different temperatures have different refractive indexes, just like many
different mediums.
