The sky appears blue because of a phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering. Different colors of light have different wavelengths, and when sunlight enters the Earth's atmosphere, it interacts with the molecules in the air.
Blue light has a shorter wavelength compared to red light. The molecules in the atmosphere, such as nitrogen and oxygen, are much smaller in size compared to the wavelength of red light. These small molecules scatter the blue light more efficiently than the red light.
When we look up at the sky, we see the scattered blue light coming from all directions. This scattered blue light dominates our field of vision, making the sky appear blue.
So, in summary, the sky is blue because of Rayleigh scattering, where the small molecules in the Earth's atmosphere scatter the shorter-wavelength blue light more efficiently than the longer-wavelength red light.
The sky appears blue due to a phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering. When sunlight reaches the Earth's atmosphere, it contains various colors of light, including red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. These colors have different wavelengths, with blue light having shorter wavelengths compared to red light.
When sunlight enters the atmosphere, it encounters tiny particles such as nitrogen and oxygen molecules. These molecules are much smaller in size compared to the wavelength of light, and they act as scattering centers. When light interacts with these molecules, it gets scattered in all directions.
The amount of scattering that occurs is dependent on the wavelength of light. Blue light, with its shorter wavelength, is more easily scattered by the molecules in the atmosphere compared to longer-wavelength red light. This scattering of blue light causes it to be scattered in all directions, including towards our eyes.
As a result, when we look up at the sky during the day, we predominantly see the scattered blue light. This is because the blue light is scattered in all directions, filling the sky with its color. In contrast, the longer-wavelength red light is scattered less and is more likely to pass straight through the atmosphere without significant scattering.
It's important to note that the sky can appear different colors during sunrise and sunset. During these times, the sun is lower in the sky, and the sunlight has to pass through a larger portion of the Earth's atmosphere. This causes more scattering of the shorter-wavelength blue and green light, while the longer-wavelength red and orange light is less scattered. As a result, the sky appears to be filled with warm hues of red, orange, and pink during sunrise and sunset.