Mountain Meteorology
Superior Mirages
When beginning to examine mirages, it is important to understand both what a mirage is and how it forms. According to physics.org, “mirages are naturally occurring optical illusions.” This illusion is caused by the way in which light is refracted through the air at different temperatures. Mirages exist in two different forms. There are both inferior and superior mirages. Both mirages are caused by refracted light, due to hot and cold air pockets existing above and below one another. Since cool air is denser than warm air, as light passes from cold to warm, it is refracted towards the denser air. The light rays, which usually travel straight to our eyes from the sky above, are bent almost in to what is a “u” shape. Our brain therefore perceives the fake image to be either above or below where the object actually exists. This process is what creates a mirage. An image is seen where it does not truly exist (Types of Mirages).
To begin, we will examine the two different types of mirages. An inferior mirage is what may be known as the more “classic” mirage. This is often visible as what appears to be shimmering, water like surface on the ground. The reason that this image appears to be this way is because the image of the sky is observed to be reflected back underneath the actual horizon. The mirage is caused because a layer of hot air very close to the ground is underneath a layer of cooler air right above it. When light rays pass through this colder layer in to a layer of warmer air, the light rays bend because of the density of the air. The rays are refracted back up towards a viewer’s eyes and the image of the sky is observed on the ground. The viewer’s brain perceives the refracted l...
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Hitchens, Christopher. The Elgin Marbles: Should They be Returned to Greece? London; New York: Verso, 1998.
painting even though the event represented in the painting took place long before the Roman Empire. The center temple that occupies the background has a vanishing point running through its doorway and if it weren’t for this illusionistic technique, the painting would be very two-dimensional.
... for foreigners", "offer visitors cheesy Tuff sculptures passing them off as ancient idols and thoroughly telling all kinds of nonsense about their origins and the history of their findings."
...the colosseum. Built between 72-80 b.c., this remarkable Roman building is concrete with arches and groin vaulting. An oval form with levels created by rings, there is a labyrinth of rooms on the ground floor. The level above the rooms is the arena, which has a base of sand. The suns would strike different parts of the bleachers at different time of the day, and the awnings could be moved to create shaded areas. The exterior of the building has 76 doors that enter the groin vaulted rings, which creates a sense of openness. The exterior arches are a structural mechanism. The post and lintel system is for decorative purposes. All levels have engaged columns to create variety and rhythm to the outside view. Each level is unique; bottom level is of the doric order, next level is ionic, third level is corinthian, and top level is balastered.
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The “superstar” museum gained this status by considering every important detail during its establishment and initial phases of conversion from royal palace to museum (Gombault, 2002). As the purpose of the building changed, each room addressed new functions with new requirements. Although the function of the Louvre is different from the building’s original intention, the building is still appears dignified and important enough to display priceless artifacts and painting (Steffensen-Bruce, 1998). This consideration was applied in designing the Met. The Met looked towards the South Kensington Museum (Victoria and Albert) and the “ideal role model” due to its extensive collections and international reputation (Heckscher, 1995). The Met found itself in a similar situation to the South Kensington, because it did not have a building or a collection to start with (Heckscher, 1995). When designing museums, architects strived to create monuments that “prepare and educate the mind of the visitor (Steffensen-Bruce, 1998).” Education is an essential function of a museum. Acquiring, preserving, and properly displaying materials, permits a museum to fulfill this duty (Steffensen-Bruce, 1998). For instance, lighting is a factor that affects the manner in which artwork is viewed and can be properly appreciated. When determining the proper lighting for the Louvre, Comte d’Angiviller, strongly believed that natural, overhead lighting was the most effective solution (McClellan, 1994, p. 72). The same determination impacted the decision to add skylights at the Met. During the initial phase, architects Vaux and Mould, added skylights to the upper floor, and windows to the lower floor that provided a natural light solution (Heckscher, 1995). Additionally, glass-roofed courtyards provided “unimpeded light” for displaying
Now take a line which has been cut into two unequal parts and divide each of them again in the same proportion, and suppose the two main divisions to answer, one to the visible and the other to the intelligible, and then compare the subdivisions in respect of their clearness and want of clearness, and you will find that the first section in the sphere of the visible consists of images. And by images I mean, in the first place, shadows, and in the second place, reflections in water and in solid, smooth and polished bodies and the like: Do you understand?
We call this an optical phenomena. The rainbows or halos typically form 22° away from the sun. If the crystals are randomly oriented, then it makes a complete halo around the sun. Although Sundogs mostly happen in very cold weather, it can happen anytime there are cirrus clouds around the sun. Sundogs aso have various names such as mock sun, phantom sun.
Background: Refraction is opposite of reflection where it bends the light and does not "bounce" it off of something. When light changes directions it must go through one medium to another at a specific angle to be bent. This bending is called refraction. Refraction causes our brains to be tricked and see an object not in its true position. This is because of how the light is bending. Light travels through different materials at different speeds. For example through air light travels at approximetely 300,000 kilometers per second. The speed of how fast light travels depends on the denisity
Mueller, T. (2011, January 1). Secrets of the Colosseum. Smithsonian. Retrieved May 11, 2014, from http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/secrets-of-the-colosseum-75827047/?no-ist
As you can see by this quote, sight is a very complicated process that is easily controlled by our eyes. However, perceptual illusions need a little more explaining.
the earth’s atmosphere the moon catches light from the sun and reflects it down to earth. As the moon reflects the sun’s light rays down to earth, those rays of light travel through the earth’s atmosphere in the form of different wavelengths which then produce different colors of visible light. For example when the moon is low in the sky and close to the earth’s horizon, light from the sun has to pass through more of the earth’s atmosphere in comparison to when the moon is high in the sky or positioned directly overhead. When this happens, air molecules filter out short wavelengths of visible light such as green, blue, and purple and scatter’s them throughout the earth’s atmosphere. When the moon is high in the sky...
So what I see in one of the images shown, was of an object which in this case is a flower. The flower is reflected on something else and it appears to be upside down. This happens due to the shape that is giving the reflection and it is making the the flower look upside down. Some of these ilusions with relfections happen very often but we don't mind
Imagine you are in standing in the Stanza della Segnatura, a small yet very crowded room located in the Papal Palace in the Vatican City. The room is not only dense with people, but dense with imagery. As your eyes gaze at each of Raphael’s incredible frescoes, one reaches out with its persuasive palms and caresses your attention. The painting beholds a sea of great thinkers and mathematicians who surround two philosophers, Plato and Aristotle. The School of Athens is an elaborate fresco, which represents the synthesis of worldly and spiritual thinking, and ranks alongside the finest examples of classically inspired Renaissance art.