Mirages Joseph F. Alward, PhD
ﾊDepartment of Physics
ﾊUniversity of the Pacific By: Austin O.

Introduction Joseph F. Alward, PhD
ﾊDepartment of Physics
ﾊUniversity of the Pacific Have you ever wondered why the road looks wet on a hot day? Well, the road isn’t actually wet because what you are seeing is a mirage. Mirages are illusionary images that appear in the distance due to the refraction of light rays that are emitted by the Earth’s atmosphere. Mirages are misinterpreted by the mind so what looks like water is really just the light rays from the atmosphere. The purpose of this slide show is to explain how mirages are created and what kinds of mirages there are.

Science Mirages can happen at any time of the year,but they are more commonly seen during the summer due to the hotter temperatures. The temperature difference between the layers of air is more important to the formation of a mirage than the actual temperature. The greater the difference in temperature the greater the bending effect.

Science (cont.) There are two types of mirages. Superior and inferior mirages. Mirages are caused by light rays passing through a layer of hot air near the surface. This causes a bending effect. When the light rays are refracted a mirage is created.

Science of Inferior Mirages Joseph F. Alward, PhD
ﾊDepartment of Physics
ﾊUniversity of the Pacific An inferior mirage forms when the road is warmer than the air above it. The light rays bend upwards causing the image to appear below. The viewer of the mirage sees the image below where the object actually is on the ground. The light rays from the sky make it look like there is water on the road.

Science of Superior Mirages A superior mirage forms when the ground is colder than the air. The image is viewed above the actual location of the object. When this occurs sometimes two images form, one lower and one upside down. Superior mirages appear at sea most of the time. Ships and land near the horizon look like they are above water level.

Vocabulary Joseph F. Alward, PhD
ﾊDepartment of Physics
ﾊUniversity of the Pacific Mirage- An illusionary image that appears in the distance due to the refraction of light rays that are emitted by the Earth’s atmosphere. Refraction- Change in direction of a wave when it crosses between two media.

Vocabulary (cont.) Inferior mirage- An image of the object that forms below the actual location of the object. Superior mirage- An image of the object that forms above the actual location of the object.

I interviewed 20 adults on what they thought a mirage was I interviewed 20 adults on what they thought a mirage was. Below is a graph that shows their responses.

Related Links/ Mirage Websites Astronomy Café The Weather Doctor The Weather Notebook Properties of Light Chapter 12 Joseph F. Alward, PhD
Department of Physics University of the Pacific

Related Links “Biggie Questions” websites Mrs. Peck’s physics homepage All of the websites on the previous slide were used for their information about mirages. Astronomy Café had a lot of information on superior and inferior mirages. The Weather Doctor explained most of the science behind mirages. The Weather Notebook explained why mirages are misinterpreted by most people. Nearly all of my images came from Properties of Light Chapter 12 Joseph F. Alward, PhD
Department of Physics University of the Pacific. “Biggie Questions” websites Mrs. Peck’s physics homepage