A mirage is when the air makes things look like they’re not there. Imagine you're walking through a hot desert, and you see what looks like water in the distance, but it disappears as you get closer. That’s because the hot ground warms up the air near it, and that warm air bends light from far away, making things look like they’re in places they’re not.
Examples
- You see a shimmering lake on a hot day, but it’s just the road in front of you.
- A desert traveler thinks there is water ahead, only to find more sand.
- On a sunny highway, the road looks wet and wavy.
See also
- What Causes the Tides Exactly?
- Why Do We Have Different Seasons?
- What Causes a Volcano to Erupt?
- How Does a Battery Work?
- Why Do We Yawn When We're Tired?
Discussion
Comments (0)
Categories: Science · optics· refraction· mirage· physics · Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.