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Diagram showing displacement of the Sun's image at sunrise and sunset Comparison of inferior and superior mirages due to differing air refractive indices, n. Atmospheric refraction is the deviation of light or other electromagnetic wave from a straight line as it passes through the atmosphere due to the variation in air density as a function of height. [1]
Light rays coming from the zenith take the shortest-possible path (1 ⁄ 38) through the air mass, yielding less scattering. Light rays coming from the horizon take the longest-possible path through the air, yielding more scattering. [11] The blueness is at the horizon because the blue light coming from great distances is also preferentially ...
Atmospheric chemistry is a branch of atmospheric science that studies the chemistry of the Earth's atmosphere and that of other planets. This multidisciplinary approach of research draws on environmental chemistry, physics, meteorology, computer modeling, oceanography, geology and volcanology, climatology and other disciplines to understand both natural and human-induced changes in atmospheric ...
Within the atmospheric sciences, atmospheric physics is the application of physics to the study of the atmosphere.Atmospheric physicists attempt to model Earth's atmosphere and the atmospheres of the other planets using fluid flow equations, radiation budget, and energy transfer processes in the atmosphere (as well as how these tie into boundary systems such as the oceans).
The grey/white colour of the clouds is caused by Mie scattering by water droplets, which are of a comparable size to the wavelengths of visible light. Rayleigh scattering describes the elastic scattering of light by spheres that are much smaller than the wavelength of light. The intensity I of the scattered radiation is given by
As the main part of the 'window' spectrum, a clear electromagnetic spectral transmission 'window' can be seen between 8 and 14 μm. A fragmented part of the 'window' spectrum (one might say a louvred part of the 'window') can also be seen in the visible to mid-wavelength infrared between 0.2 and 5.5 μm.
While all scattered light is polarized to some extent, light is highly polarized at a scattering angle of 90° from the light source. In most cases the light source is the Sun, but the Moon creates the same pattern as well. The degree of polarization first increases with increasing distance from the Sun, and then decreases away from the Sun.
Photoexcitation is the first step in a photochemical process where the reactant is elevated to a state of higher energy, an excited state.The first law of photochemistry, known as the Grotthuss–Draper law (for chemists Theodor Grotthuss and John W. Draper), states that light must be absorbed by a chemical substance in order for a photochemical reaction to take place.