PHASE 3 :
Finally , add a full teaspoon of milk and , as before , try shining the torch at the glass from different angles . Can you see how , by adding more milk , the glass becomes pinker ?
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AWESOME
ACTIVITY ALERT !
SCAN ME
LET ME TELL YOU WHY
As white light passes through the atmosphere , tiny air molecules , including gas , dust , water droplets etc , cause it to scatter . This is known as Rayleigh scattering after the person who first described it . The scattering increases as the wavelengths of light decrease .
Violet and blue light have the shortest wavelengths and red and orange have the longest . As a result , blue wavelengths , which our eyes pick up more easily than violet ones anyway , are scattered more than red light . That is why the sky appears blue during the day . Amazing !
When the Sun is low in the sky during sunrise and sunset , the light has to travel further through the Earth ’ s atmosphere . We don ’ t see the blue light because it is scattered , but the red light isn ’ t scattered very much , so the sky appears red .
V DID YOU KNOW ?
– The Rayleigh scattering effect is named after Lord Rayleigh ( 1842- 1919 ). He was a mathematician and scientist who spent most of his life working and teaching at Cambridge University , England .
– Open water also appears blue on sunny days because of wavelengths of light and how they interact . Water molecules are good at absorbing longer wavelengths of light , so when sunlight hits the water the reds and oranges get absorbed . The shorter blue wavelengths are absorbed very little , and much of it is reflected back into our eyes .
© AQUILA MAGAZINE . Written by John Davis PAGE 2 OF 2