Images by kenne
My neighbor Bill Wolfe is Professor Emeritus of Optical Sciences in The College of Optical Science at The University of Arizona has explained that we have sunsets that are red because of the selective nature of scattering by small particles. Blue is scattered more than red. Thus, blue skies and red sunsets. Clouds are different. The water droplets that make up clouds are about 1000 times larger than the light waves. Thus, all colors are scattered equally – neutral scattering. The droplets absorb light a little; that is why clouds are white near the top, gray further down and even black at the bottom. But we only have gorgeous sunsets when there are lots of clouds. The two go together. The clouds scatter the setting sun neutrally, all over the place, and the particles of the atmosphere filter out the blue light, leaving only the gorgeous reds to get to our eyes.
kenne
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