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2006-10-17 20:11:02 · 8 answers · asked by reza_hemmatdj 1 in Science & Mathematics Physics

8 answers

A clear cloudless day-time sky is blue because molecules in the air scatter blue light from the sun more than they scatter red light. When we look towards the sun at sunset, we see red and orange colours because the blue light has been scattered out and away from the line of sight.

The white light from the sun is a mixture of all colours of the rainbow. This was demonstrated by Isaac Newton, who used a prism to separate the different colours and so form a spectrum. The colours of light are distinguished by their different wavelengths. The visible part of the spectrum ranges from red light with a wavelength of about 720 nm, to violet with a wavelength of about 380 nm, with orange, yellow, green, blue and indigo between. The three different types of colour receptors in the retina of the human eye respond most strongly to red, green and blue wavelengths, giving us our colour vision.

Tyndall Effect
The first steps towards correctly explaining the colour of the sky were taken by John Tyndall in 1859. He discovered that when light passes through a clear fluid holding small particles in suspension, the shorter blue wavelengths are scattered more strongly than the red. This can be demonstrated by shining a beam of white light through a tank of water with a little milk or soap mixed in. From the side, the beam can be seen by the blue light it scatters; but the light seen directly from the end is reddened after it has passed through the tank. The scattered light can also be shown to be polarised using a filter of polarised light, just as the sky appears a deeper blue through polaroid sun glasses.

This is most correctly called the Tyndall effect, but it is more commonly known to physicists as Rayleigh scattering--after Lord Rayleigh, who studied it in more detail a few years later. He showed that the amount of light scattered is inversely proportional to the fourth power of wavelength for sufficiently small particles. It follows that blue light is scattered more than red light by a factor of (700/400)4 ~= 10.

Tyndall Effect
The first steps towards correctly explaining the colour of the sky were taken by John Tyndall in 1859. He discovered that when light passes through a clear fluid holding small particles in suspension, the shorter blue wavelengths are scattered more strongly than the red. This can be demonstrated by shining a beam of white light through a tank of water with a little milk or soap mixed in. From the side, the beam can be seen by the blue light it scatters; but the light seen directly from the end is reddened after it has passed through the tank. The scattered light can also be shown to be polarised using a filter of polarised light, just as the sky appears a deeper blue through polaroid sun glasses.

This is most correctly called the Tyndall effect, but it is more commonly known to physicists as Rayleigh scattering--after Lord Rayleigh, who studied it in more detail a few years later. He showed that the amount of light scattered is inversely proportional to the fourth power of wavelength for sufficiently small particles. It follows that blue light is scattered more than red light by a factor of (700/400)4 ~= 10.

Tyndall and Rayleigh thought that the blue colour of the sky must be due to small particles of dust and droplets of water vapour in the atmosphere. Even today, people sometimes incorrectly say that this is the case. Later scientists realised that if this were true, there would be more variation of sky colour with humidity or haze conditions than was actually observed, so they supposed correctly that the molecules of oxygen and nitrogen in the air are sufficient to account for the scattering. The case was finally settled by Einstein in 1911, who calculated the detailed formula for the scattering of light from molecules; and this was found to be in agreement with experiment. He was even able to use the calculation as a further verification of Avogadro's number when compared with observation. The molecules are able to scatter light because the electromagnetic field of the light waves induces electric dipole moments in the molecules.

2006-10-17 21:24:54 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

The blue color of the sky is due to Rayleigh scattering. As light moves through the atmosphere, most of the longer wavelengths pass straight through. Little of the red, orange and yellow light is affected by the air.

However, much of the shorter wavelength light is absorbed by the gas molecules. The absorbed blue light is then radiated in different directions. It gets scattered all around the sky. Whichever direction you look, some of this scattered blue light reaches you. Since you see the blue light from everywhere overhead, the sky looks blue.

Blue light is more easily bent, or refracted, than red light; thus, light refracted back from the surface of the sea appears blue. Furthermore, when you are underwater the water around you appears blue because more blue light is scattered back to your eye than red light.
VR

2006-10-18 03:24:41 · answer #2 · answered by sarayu 7 · 0 0

Don't know about the sky, but I do know the sea is green or blue or whatever due to the different algea that are in the ocean, they tinge it the color you see.

2006-10-18 03:12:49 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

To answer these questions, we must learn about light, and the Earth's atmosphere.
http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/sky_blue.html


The absorbed blue light is then radiated in different directions. It gets scattered all around the sky. Whichever direction you look

2006-10-18 03:26:34 · answer #4 · answered by me3laki 2 · 0 0

aww i forgot the exact reason but the blue sky has somthin to do with refraction off colors the sun gives of. all the colors in the spectrum hit the atmosphere but they get refracted and only blue shows through...somthink like that =)

2006-10-18 03:19:26 · answer #5 · answered by Kyrosec 1 · 0 0

Navy-blue???

2006-10-18 03:13:31 · answer #6 · answered by LB James 3 · 0 0

sky is blue due to gases in it, ozone, oxygen ect

2006-10-18 03:19:05 · answer #7 · answered by allways_dejavu 2 · 0 0

First, tell us why you don't accept any of the other answers from the many, many times this question has been asked here.

2006-10-18 03:19:33 · answer #8 · answered by Frank N 7 · 0 0

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