• Question: Can air make shadows?

    Asked by anon-281057 on 11 Feb 2021.
    • Photo: Kate Dobson

      Kate Dobson answered on 11 Feb 2021:

      Yes, air can cast a shadow. It is the same process that means we can see transparent objects like glass. Instead of reflecting or absorbing the light, the transparent objects bend the light (called refraction). Sometimes the light can be bent enough to create a shadow.

    • Photo: Philip Ratcliffe

      Philip Ratcliffe answered on 12 Feb 2021:

      Yes. You can see the effect especially on hot days when some parts of the air around you may be hotter than others. The hotter air will also be less dense and this causes an effect known as refraction (just like when you look into water or glass). The light rays then get bent so that they don’t end up where they were originally directed , leaving some areas (on the ground say) less illuminated and so at least partially in a shadow.

    • Photo: Amal Lavender

      Amal Lavender answered on 22 Feb 2021:

      Yes, air can indeed make shadows. A shadow occurs when an object in a light beam prevents some of the light from continuing on in the forward direction. When the light beam hits a wall or the ground, a darker shape is visible where less light is hitting the surface

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