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. Below is a graph that shows their
responses.
14
What is a mirage?
13
Number of Responces
12
10
8
6
4
4
2
2
1
0
Correct
Incorrect
Didn't know
Adult Responses
Partially Correct
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
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