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This is weather-wise. To parched desert travelers of the past, the Mirage may have seemed like a cruel hoax perpetrated by Mother Nature. Now we understand it's a consequence of the physics of light. The familiar wet roadway Mirage is called an inferior or lower Mirage. It appears when light rays pass through and are refracted by air that has an abrupt change in density. Such density changes are often caused by a large variation in air temperature over a short distance. For instance, on a clear summer day, a black top road can be extremely hot. Heat from the road warms the air right next to it. But because air doesn't conduct heat very well, the air a short distance above the surface will be a lot cooler and more dense than that nearest to the ground. Light causes an abrupt decrease in air density, and light rays passing through the area will be bent or refracted.
Million with appears when the blue light from the sky is refracted, and the light rays coming from objects like cars or trees are refracted too, so they appear to be reflected in the imaginary puddle. But there can be Mirages in cold weather too. Those are often superior or upper Mirages, which occur in polar regions where ice and snow cover the ground. The air next to that ice and snow is much colder, and as a result, more dense than the air right above it. That difference in density produces a reverse effect from the hot weather image, so an upper Mirage appears in the sky rather than on the ground, and distant objects like mountains will appear to be taller and closer than they really are. In fact, that phenomenon sometimes caused polar explorers to turn back when they thought their path was blocked by an unforeseen mountain range. For weather wise, I'm Gruvarla.
Series
Weather Whys
Episode
Mirage
Producing Organization
KGOU
Contributing Organization
KGOU (Norman, Oklahoma)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip-a7d6e6c60ed
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Description
Episode Description
The mirage is a consequence of the physics of light. The wet road mirage is an inferior mirage. Mirages in cold weather are often superior mirages.
Broadcast Date
1991-07-02
Topics
Education
Weather
Science
Subjects
Meteorology
Media type
Sound
Duration
00:02:06.120
Embed Code
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Credits
Editor: Walkie, Brian
Executive Producer: Holp, Karen
Host: Barlow, Drew
Producer: Patrick, Steve
Producing Organization: KGOU
Writer: Harbor, Christine
AAPB Contributor Holdings
KGOU
Identifier: cpb-aacip-7b04106ef50 (Filename)
Format: 1/4 inch audio tape
Generation: Dub
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Citations
Chicago: “Weather Whys; Mirage,” 1991-07-02, KGOU, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed July 16, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-a7d6e6c60ed.
MLA: “Weather Whys; Mirage.” 1991-07-02. KGOU, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. July 16, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-a7d6e6c60ed>.
APA: Weather Whys; Mirage. Boston, MA: KGOU, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-a7d6e6c60ed