What Causes the Distortion of Light During Heatwaves?

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Heatwaves cause light distortion primarily due to refraction, which occurs when light passes through air layers of varying temperatures and densities. As the ground heats up, the air directly above it becomes warmer and less dense, bending the light rays. This bending results in a shimmering effect, making objects appear wavy or unclear. The phenomenon is particularly noticeable over hot surfaces like concrete during summer. Understanding refraction helps explain why visibility is affected in these conditions.
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In summer, sometimes you see heatwaves coming out of the hot concrete. I'm curious as to why light is bent or distorted and you can't really see clearly through these heat waves.
 
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Are you familiar with "refraction"?
 
hmm, i forgot about that from last year :D
 
the light is passing through air with different densities due to heat i.e. refraction
 
Thread 'Simple math model for a Particle Image Velocimetry system'

Thread 'Simple math model for a Particle Image Velocimetry system'

Hello togehter, I am new to this forum and hope this post followed all the guidelines here (I tried to summarized my issue as clean as possible, two pictures are attached). I would appreciate every help: I am doing research on a Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) system. For this I want to set a simple math model for the system. I hope you can help me out. Regarding this I have 2 main Questions. 1. I am trying to find a math model which is describing what is happening in a simple Particle...
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