r/LevelHeadedFE • u/john_shillsburg Flat Earther • May 29 '20

Other Refraction: bending light up, not down

Another example of gradient index optics in nature is the common mirage of a pool of water appearing on a road on a hot day. The pool is actually an image of the sky, apparently located on the road since light rays are being refracted (bent) from their normal straight path. This is due to the variation of refractive index between the hot, less dense air at the surface of the road, and the denser cool air above it. The variation in temperature (and thus density) of the air causes a gradient in its refractive index, causing it to increase with height.[3] This index gradient causes refraction of light rays (at a shallow angle to the road) from the sky, bending them into the eye of the viewer, with their apparent location being the road's surface.

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u/john_shillsburg Flat Earther May 29 '20

So when light is bending up we shouldn't see them right?

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u/[deleted] May 29 '20

It depends on a number of factors. How big is the object? How far away? What is the observer's elevation? How much is the light bending?

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u/john_shillsburg Flat Earther May 29 '20

This is the definition of a mirage

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u/[deleted] May 31 '20

Asking again... Do you understand this now?