It turns out that under the scorching sun exposure, the temperature in the desert rises sharply, and the air near the ground rises in temperature and density, while the air above is relatively low in temperature and high in density. Although there is convection movement of air with high density downward and air with low density upward, it is too late to change the uneven density between the upper and lower parts. The light from the distant oasis will be obviously refracted when passing through the air layer with significantly different densities, so that the oasis we see will appear on the ground nearby. Because this illusion is below the object, it is also called the mirage.
So what is a mirage? A mirage is the phenomenon that the image of a scene appears above an object, which is called a mirage, such as the mirage in the previous section. learning point
refraction of light
Refraction of light, when light obliquely enters another transparent medium from one transparent medium, the propagation direction will generally change, which is called refraction of light.
The refraction of light, like the reflection of light, occurs at the junction of two media, except that the reflected light returns to the original medium, while the refracted light enters another medium. Because the propagation speed of light in two different substances is different, the propagation direction changes at the junction of the two media, which is the refraction of light. At the junction of the two media, both refraction and reflection occur. The speed of reflected light is the same as that of incident light, while the speed of refracted light is different from that of incident light.