2007-06-22 11:27:20 · 8 answers · asked by singh r 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Light travels a bit quicker through hotter air, so it is refracted by temperature gradients. If the road is much hotter than the air, then it sets up a temperature gradient. So you look along a line that points to the ground far off, but instead of ground you see light from the sky that has been refracted, and you interpret that as water. The bending is very, very slight, though, so once you get close, you won't see the mirage (although you might see another one in the distance).
2007-06-22 11:30:57 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
a mirage is an optical phenomena in which light waves are bent to produce a sense of displacement of distant objects or the sky. like a mirror a mirage shows things elsewhere. refraction (change in direction of a wave) is what occurs with the mirage ,reflection is what occurs to the mirror. cold air is denser than warm air so has a better refractive index. when light passes from warm to cold air it passes away from the temperature normal. if the air near the ground is warmer than higher up it creates the light rays to bends in an upward trajectory. the line of site for humans is straight when looking ahead, therefore it creates a secant line(passes from one line through the next) from the upward ray to the incoming ray making a mirage. angle of viewing determines the mirage also.
2007-06-22 14:49:06 · answer #2 · answered by pimpinator15 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are apparently seeing a heat mirage. You are actually looking at a reflection of the sky, I believe. Different layers of air at different temperatures bend light in funny ways, so you see a reflection of the sky that is behind you, or above you.
2007-06-22 11:30:42 · answer #3 · answered by Randy G 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ahh...The wonder of the eye! A mirage occurs when light rays bend, like a mirror, it shows a reflection of things which are elsewhere.
2007-06-22 11:32:38 · answer #4 · answered by Burberry_Chick 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I think it's heat waves rising off the black top. and we can't see them when we get close, because the angle is wrong?
2007-06-22 11:30:17 · answer #5 · answered by mury902 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Anyone who said "reflection" is wrong, anyone who said "refraction" is right.
2007-06-22 12:34:42 · answer #6 · answered by IGotsFacts! 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Burberry chick is correct..
2007-06-22 11:38:36 · answer #7 · answered by GITWITIT 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because I have smoked too much crack.
2007-06-22 11:30:02 · answer #8 · answered by Moxie Crimefighter 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋