What is atmospheric refraction? Use this phenomeanon to explain the following natural events.
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Answer:
What is atmospheric refraction? Use this phenomenon to explain the following natural events: a) Twinkling of stars. ... Atmospheric refraction is the refraction of light caused by the earth's atmosphere due to change in the refractive indices of different layers of the atmosphere.
Answer:
Atmospheric refraction: When the light rays pass through the layers of the earth's atmosphere, which are of different optical densities it is called atmospheric refraction.
a) Twinkling of stars :
The atmospheric refraction is due to change, the refractive index at a different level in the atmosphere. The starlight bends towards the normal, the apparent position is different from the actual position of the star. As the path of rays of the lights which is coming from stars varies the slightly then apparent position of the star also varies slightly and that amount of light which enters in the eye flickers.
b) Advanced sunrise and delayed sunset :
When the sun is slightly below the horizon, the light which is coming from the sun travels from less dense to more dense air and refracted downwards. That is why the sun appears to be raised and can be seen before 2 minutes of the actual rise and after 2 minutes of the actual sunset. It occurs due to atmospheric refraction
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