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.
2007-02-18 14:43:48
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answer #1
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answered by Rick P 3
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Why is the sky blue?
The sky is blue due to an atmosphetic effect called Rayleigh scattering - certainly not because its reflecting the ocean which people sometimes say! Rayleigh scattering involves the scattering of light by molecules smaller than the wavelength of light. It has a smaller effect on colours with longer wavelengths and that is why the sky is blue - and also in fact why the sun is yellow - if you added up all the blue tint in the sky and focused it in the area of sun you would get its actual colour of bright white, which is what you’d see in space.
Physicists used to say that Rayleigh diffraction was responsible for the reddish tint in sunrise and sunset because the light had to travel through more atmosphere to reach us however this is currently disputed and there is another optical theorem at work called 'Lorenz-Mie theory'.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/question39.htm
http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/BlueSky/blue_sky.html
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/atmos/blusky.html
http://www.exo.net/~pauld/physics/why_is_sky_blue.html
Kind regards
2007-02-18 22:56:16
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answer #2
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answered by Goodly Devil 2
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The sky is blue due to an atmospheric effect called Rayleigh scattering - certainly not because its reflecting the ocean which people sometimes say! Rayleigh scattering involves the scattering of light by molecules smaller than the wavelength of light. It has a smaller effect on colours with longer wavelengths and that is why the sky is blue - and also in fact why the sun is yellow - if you added up all the blue tint in the sky and focused it in the area of sun you would get its actual colour of bright white, which is what you’d see in space.
Physicists used to say that Rayleigh diffraction was responsible for the reddish tint in sunrise and sunset because the light had to travel through more atmosphere to reach us however this is currently disputed and there is another optical theorem at work called 'Lorenz-Mie theory'.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/question39.htm
http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/BlueSky/blue_sky.html
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/atmos/blusky.html
http://www.exo.net/~pauld/physics/why_is_sky_blue.html
Kind regards.
2007-02-19 09:44:17
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answer #3
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answered by Leviathan 6
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It is not because of the ocean. It is because of a physical phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering. The blueness you see is all of the atoms in the atmosphere scattering blue light toward you.
2007-02-18 22:47:03
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answer #4
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answered by Anonymous
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sun refraction through dust
2007-02-18 22:38:52
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answer #5
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answered by know it all 4
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Dust and sunlight!
2007-02-18 22:53:07
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answer #6
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answered by Just-Another-Sombody 3
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It reflects the ocean.
2007-02-18 22:43:19
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answer #7
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answered by First Lady 7
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It's grey.
2007-02-18 22:43:21
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answer #8
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answered by Chickenlips 1
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shortest wavelength. our naked eyes can c this the best.
2007-02-19 01:02:56
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answer #9
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answered by Carmen 3
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