David Stillwell
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Learn what a mirage is, how it forms, and what types of mirages exist. See diagrams and examples of inferior, superior, and Fata Morgana mirages, and how they are caused by atmospheric refraction and temperature gradients.
In contrast to a hallucination, a mirage is a real optical phenomenon that can be captured on camera, since light rays are actually refracted to form the false image at the observer's location. What the image appears to represent, however, is determined by the interpretive faculties of the human mind.
A mirage is an image of something that seems to be far away but does not really exist, caused by very hot air. Learn how to use the word in sentences, see synonyms and related words, and find translations in different languages.
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A mirage is a deceptive appearance of a distant object or objects caused by the bending of light rays in layers of air of varying density. Learn how mirages are formed, what types of mirages exist, and how they differ from other optical illusions.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Feb 9, 2023 · A mirage forms when the light from the sky curves upward toward the cooler air and appears to be coming from the ground.
Nov 7, 2005 · What causes a mirage? Edwin Meyer, a physics professor at Baldwin-Wallace College, explains. To understand how a mirage forms, one must first understand how light travels through air.
Nov 24, 2023 · You don’t have to be lost in the desert to see a mirage. You can get the same effect anytime the ground heats up the air just above it, creating those different densities. One common place a mirage can occur is on a hot road, where the mirage often makes it look as if there’s water on the road ahead.
