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15 votes
1 answer
11k views

Why does the light at the bottom of the pool form this awesome pattern?

Take a look at the following picture: Why does the light at the bottom of the water form this pattern? I have also seen the same phenomenon in all the swimming pools I've ever visited, of whatever ...
Gerard's user avatar
  • 2,780
5 votes
2 answers
2k views

Shape of the rainbow

I have watched Walter Lewin's lecture(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QVbE_tU2sA) which was about the rainbows. But there is still a question bothering me. I understood the first part of the ...
Dory's user avatar
  • 573
1 vote
1 answer
731 views

Why light rays gets scattered when it enters a translucent window pane?

Consider the light source is the light post, outside the window of my house (Pic 1). When the rays from the light post enters through the window pane which is translucent gets scattered and forms a ...
Nilay Ghosh's user avatar
  • 1,273
51 votes
2 answers
32k views

Why do I see better under water using swimming goggles? [duplicate]

I am myopic (I don't really know if this is relevant or not) and I usually swim without contact lenses. My vision is clearly better underwater when I am using swimming goggles. I have tried to ...
S -'s user avatar
  • 1,563
18 votes
2 answers
2k views

Why are the edges of the shadow so bright?

Today I noticed something while playing with my specs (having diverging lenses). Have a look at it : This is the shadow of my specs on the wall in sunlight. The region of the lens appears darker and ...
Ankit's user avatar
  • 8,230
10 votes
2 answers
4k views

Why do mirages only appear on hot days?

A previous question asked why the road sometimes appears wet on hot days. The reason is that when there's a temperature gradient in the air, it causes a gradient in the index of refraction, causing ...
Mark Eichenlaub's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
3k views

Why can't we reach the ends of rainbow?

Rainbows are spectacular things. But I imagine why we can't reach to the ends of rainbows. Do rainbows have no ends ? If so, why can't we reach at them? If you go closer,they will go further. Why?
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