433,604 views
16 votes
16 votes
How does a mirage occur in a deser?explain with a labelled diagram.​

User Equasia
by
3.0k points

2 Answers

6 votes
6 votes

Answer:

When it is very hot and sunny, roads can become very hot. When light rays from the sun reach this air pocket just above the road, the speed of the photon increases slightly, causing its path to alter, or bend from an observer's point of view. This makes something that looks like a puddle of water appear on the road.

People sometimes label a mirage as an illusion or as a hallucination. But, a mirage is neither one of those. Illusions and hallucinations are products of the mind. But the physics of Earth's atmosphere causes a mirage.

Mirages really have nothing to do with water at all. It's really all about how light travels through the air.


Here is a labelled diagram:

How does a mirage occur in a deser?explain with a labelled diagram.​-example-1
User Mr Slim
by
3.5k points
17 votes
17 votes

Answer:

Mirages happen when the ground is very hot and the air is cool.

Step-by-step explanation:

They happen when light passes through two layers of air with different temperatures. The desert sun heats the sand, which in turn heats the air just above it. The hot air bends light rays and reflects the sky.

When you see it from a distance, the different air masses colliding with each other act as a mirror.

How does a mirage occur in a deser?explain with a labelled diagram.​-example-1
How does a mirage occur in a deser?explain with a labelled diagram.​-example-2
User Robertnl
by
3.3k points