Exilian

Art, Writing, and Learning: The Clerisy Quarter => History, Science, and Interesting Information - The Great Library => Topic started by: Glaurung on February 03, 2015, 12:17:20 AM

Title: Rainbows and other shiny things
Post by: Glaurung on February 03, 2015, 12:17:20 AM
I was reminded today of a website you might enjoy. Atmospheric Optics (http://www.atoptics.co.uk/) is about rainbows, ice halos, and many other optical effects that occur when sunlight meets rain drops or ice crystals. There's a wide range of amazing photographs, along with clear and accurate descriptions of the physics involved. But you don't need to understand the physics in order to enjoy the pictures.
Title: Re: Rainbows and other shiny things
Post by: Glaurung on February 17, 2015, 09:45:06 PM
There's a good example of one of the more common effects, so-called "sun dogs", reported today (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-31505470) from Chelyabinsk in Russia.
Title: Re: Rainbows and other shiny things
Post by: Jubal on February 17, 2015, 11:03:43 PM
There was quite an influential article about Constantine written a few years back that suggested that one of these pretty lighting effects was what was reported as his "vision in the sky" that precipitated his conversion to Christianity. Whilst I'm a sceptic about the whole sudden conversion narrative, you can see how halos and such things could have been interpreted in a very awe-inspired way!
Title: Re: Rainbows and other shiny things
Post by: Glaurung on October 27, 2015, 12:05:19 AM
Here's a BBC News article (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-34637103) with a couple of pictures of one of the less common optical effects, the circumzenithal arc (http://www.atoptics.co.uk/halo/cza.htm), otherwise described as an "upside-down rainbow".