why should the light be different if the sun is the same distance compared to the horizon?
2007-06-04 10:35:19 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
Photographers call the hour after sunrise and before sunset as the "golden hour", best light of the day.In the morning the world will look "fresh" because of the cool damp air, and in the PM it would look different due to the warmer, dryer air.
I cant quantify this, I'm not a scientist, just a photo buff.
Good luck!
2007-06-04 10:43:38 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is actually in reply to kozmo, who suggested the speed of light is constant. Speed of light is only constant up to GCSE education level. The physics constant 'c' actually means the speed of light in a vacuum. As light propagates though other media, such as air, it is slowed down. The amount by which it is slowed is called the refractive index (this also causes light coming in at and angle to bend).
Since the air at dawn is cooler and contains less pollution, the refractive index is different than dusk, so the quality of the light is also different.
2007-06-04 20:58:37 · answer #2 · answered by Nick J 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
in the dawn the earth is un heated and does not affect the light rays from the central point. at dusk when viewing the sun the light rays will be effected by the existing heat from throughout the day thus affecting the speed in which the light travels! but only measured from a central point.
2007-06-04 10:42:21 · answer #3 · answered by crunchymonkey 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The only relevant difference I know of is the air. The biggest difference there is cloud conditions. Morning air is less turbulent because heat isn't rising from a warm earth. It has less smog and other particulate matter from human activity. It generally has a lower temperature and higher relative humidity. All of this will vary by geography. On the moon, I suspect there is no difference in the light.
2007-06-04 11:47:03 · answer #4 · answered by Frank N 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Great question, and I agree with the warm, dry air answer. But I must say the answer about the speed of the light being affected needs some evidence! As far as we know, the speed of light is a constant, or a lot of physics books need rewriting.
2007-06-04 10:59:16 · answer #5 · answered by kozmo 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋