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jollytime
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It is said that bush fires in Africa can be started by water droplets in the grass. How could this work? What actually causes the burning?
Andy Resnick said:This is how some old weather-recording devices worked- a large glass ball sat in the center of a ring of paper. If the sun was out, the paper would have a char line, and if it was cloudy, there would be no line.
The presence of water droplets in the air can affect the behavior of light, leading to various optical phenomena such as rainbows, halos, and glories. This is because the water droplets act as tiny prisms that bend and reflect light in different ways.
When sunlight passes through a water droplet, it is refracted, or bent, as it enters the droplet and then again as it exits. This causes the light to separate into its component colors, creating a rainbow.
Halos and glories are formed when light is reflected and refracted by water droplets in the atmosphere, such as those found in clouds. The droplets act as tiny prisms, separating the light and creating the appearance of a halo or glory around the light source.
Yes, water droplets can cause objects to appear distorted or magnified when viewed through them. This is due to the refraction of light as it passes through the droplets.
When light hits a smooth surface with water droplets on it, some of the light is reflected off the surface while some is refracted by the droplets. This can create a distorted or blurred reflection, depending on the size and shape of the droplets.