Mirage message. Why do we see mirages

The article tells about what a mirage is, what causes such a phenomenon, how it can be dangerous and what types of it are.

Around us every second there are many physical, chemical and other processes. True, most of them have a form that people are used to and no longer pay any attention to. For example, boiling water on the stove, which turns into steam. But even if we think about more global scales, for example, about the burning of the Sun, this fact will still not surprise anyone. But in fact, in its bowels, amazing and so far beyond the control of human reproduction reactions take place. But such reasoning can be of interest, probably, only to a person who is sincerely fond of science.

However, sometimes there are situations when the most simple and harmless physical processes can greatly surprise, confuse, and very rarely even kill a person. Or rather, just push him to some unreasonable destructive actions. And one of these is a mirage.

Mirage... This word, probably, was heard by all people, and it is associated primarily with hot deserts, where unfortunate travelers, seeing illusory oases, rushed to them. However, not everyone knows what causes such visions and what types of them are. We will talk about this.

Origin of the word

It has French roots and in the original sounds like mirage, which literally means "visibility". A mirage is one of the most common optical illusions, which occurs as a result of the refraction of light rays at the boundary between layers of air that differ sharply in their temperature. And sometimes, as a result of a mirage, the observer, in addition to a really existing distant object, also sees its reflection in the sky. So a mirage is a rather curious optical atmospheric phenomenon. However, for a very long time, people could not understand its nature and endowed it with mystical meaning or mistook it for the machinations of evil spirits. Many legends and beliefs are associated with mirages, especially in the east.

Now let's look at the types of mirages.

Lower

This type of mirage is the most common and has been seen by many. To see it, it is not necessary to be in a hot desert. It is characterized by the fact that as a result of a strong drop in temperature with height, over a flat surface, for example, asphalt, concrete or sand, a person observes puddles of water. And this illusion is very convincing. And for many people in ancient times, who found themselves without water in the desert, to see such a mirage is to receive an imaginary hope for salvation.

Upper

This type of mirage is usually observed in cold conditions, when the air temperature rises with increasing altitude, for example, in the polar regions on large flat ice floes. In nature, this is quite rare, and this type of mirage was seen not even by all eminent travelers who visited the northern parts of our planet. The meaning of this phenomenon is that if the bending of the sun's rays is exactly the same as the curve of the Earth's surface, then this allows you to see objects that are beyond the horizon at a very large distance. There is a legend that the Vikings discovered Iceland thanks to him. So a mirage is sometimes quite a useful phenomenon. And perhaps this is the explanation for the myths about flying ships - such a mirage on the sea makes them visible from the horizon and visually greatly increases both the size and speed of the ship.

Side

With side mirages, things are somewhat not as exciting as with other types. They arise as a result of strong heating of vertical surfaces by the sun. For example, there is a documented fact when in the Middle Ages the wall of the fortress shone like a mirror, and outwardly it seemed that it had become partially invisible and ghostly. So now we know the meaning of the word mirage and figured out what it is.

volumetric mirage

This type is also quite rare and mostly in the mountains. During this illusion, one can see oneself relatively nearby or other objects in a distorted perspective. This phenomenon is explained by the presence of water particles in the "stagnant" mountain air.

culture

Mirage as a phenomenon has found a strong reflection in culture - films, books, legends and fairy tales. Since ancient times, many travelers or explorers have been deceived by mirages, showing water where there is none. And by the way, if you walk on a hot day on a flat surface, for example, a road, then the lower mirage will move further and further as you approach it. One can only imagine the moral torment experienced by people who were stuck in the desert without a drop of water and saw such a deceptive phenomenon.

Mirage is an illusion of water, it is this form of it that is the most common both in life and in culture of various kinds. But as you can see, its varieties do not end there.

A mirage is an illusion that sailors or exhausted travelers in the deserts have seen more than once. From time to time, travelers observe ghost ships on the horizon, outlandish castles, oases in the middle of a drought, which disappear without a trace as they approach them.

For many centuries this phenomenon has been associated with mysticism, ancient magic and miracles, because what else can shock the imagination so much?

In ancient Egypt, mirages were considered images of events from the past, reminiscent of former cities and settlements. In other parts of the Earth, the phenomenon was attributed to the fairy Morgana, who lived in the water. With bizarre pictures, she lured people and carried them to the seabed. The most fantastic mirages are named Fata Morgana in her honor.

Back to physics

Scientists have long refuted all myths, explaining mirages as optical illusions. Together with the aurora, rainbow and gloria, they are classified as atmospheric phenomena that are associated with the refraction of light. As it turns out, our eyes are pretty easy to fool, even without the use of any magic.

Mirages occur when layers of air differ sharply in temperature and density. When heated, air tends to rise, while cold air sinks closer to the earth's surface. The boundaries between the layers create an obstacle to light. Its streams cannot pass straight, and begin to deviate somewhat.

Part of the rays keeps a given course and is not refracted, so a person still sees the sky and the earth. The deviated streams of light do not reach us. They fall to the ground, displaying it and objects in the atmosphere. Such reflections are mirages. The objects of the illusion are often twisted, and may appear much closer and larger than they really are.

Where do they occur?

Mirages are observed in wide open spaces. The most famous place for them is the desert. Not one person was deceived by the image of a visible oasis or lake. The illusion showed that the water was very close. And travelers rushed to find her. However, this was just an optical distortion, and the oasis could be much further away.

Similar "hallucinations" can be seen on deserted roads, as well as in areas with low temperatures. For example, in the region of Alaska, Iceland, Greenland, in areas of large and even ice floes, where the cold temperature is constant.

The phenomenon is also common in the sea. Many cases are known when sailors watched the wreck of ships, and when they arrived at the scene, they did not meet the slightest trace of the tragedy. It turned out that the accident occurred in a completely different place.
Sailors often told stories of encountering a mysterious ghost ship that appeared and disappeared right in front of them. They called him the Flying Dutchman. Many legends and beliefs are attributed to this ship.

Types of mirages

Mirages are not the same. There are different types of them, depending on the characteristics of their formation. With a vertical drop in temperature, inferior mirages appear. They form in the lower layers of the air and often reflect the sky, in the form of an illusory lake or puddle.

The opposite phenomenon is superior mirages. They occur much less frequently and are common in the polar regions of the planet. The superior mirage is clearly visible, the picture can be inverted or mosaic. During it, you can observe images of objects that are placed even far beyond the horizon.

On hot summer days, you can see a side mirage. It arises from the refraction of light reflected from the walls of buildings. The most mysterious form of optical illusions is Fata Morgana. Its appearance is possible when layers of air of different density alternate with each other. Such mirages depict several objects at once, which can change, overlap each other.

Classification

Mirages are divided into lower ones, visible under the object, upper ones, above the object, and side ones.

inferior mirage

It is observed with a very large vertical temperature gradient (falling with height) over an overheated flat surface, often a desert or an asphalt road. The imaginary image of the sky creates the illusion of water on the surface. So, the road that goes into the distance on a hot summer day seems wet.

superior mirage

It is observed above the cold earth's surface with an inversion temperature distribution (air temperature rises with altitude).

Superior mirages are generally less common than inferior mirages, but are most often more stable because cold air does not tend to move up and warm air does not tend to move down.

Superior mirages are most common in the polar regions, especially on large flat ice floes with stable low temperatures. They are also observed in more temperate latitudes, although in this case, they are weaker, less distinct and stable. An superior mirage can be upright or inverted, depending on the distance to the true object and the temperature gradient. Often the image appears as a fragmentary mosaic of upright and inverted parts.

A ship of normal size is moving beyond the horizon. In the specific state of the atmosphere, its reflection above the horizon seems gigantic.

Superior mirages can have a striking effect due to the curvature of the Earth. If the curvature of the rays is about the same as the curvature of the Earth, the light rays can travel long distances, causing the observer to see objects far beyond the horizon. This was observed and documented for the first time in 1596, when a ship under the command of Willem Barents, in search of the Northeast Passage, became stuck in the ice on Novaya Zemlya. The crew was forced to wait out the polar night. At the same time, the sunrise after the polar night was observed two weeks earlier than expected. In the 20th century, this phenomenon was explained, and was called the "New Earth Effect".

In the same way, ships that are actually so far away that they should not be visible above the horizon can appear on the horizon, and even above the horizon, as superior mirages. This may explain some of the stories about flights of ships or coastal cities in the sky, as described by some polar explorers.

side mirage

The existence of a side mirage is usually not even suspected. This is a reflection from a heated sheer wall.

Such a case is described by one French author. Approaching the fort of the fortress, he noticed that the even concrete wall of the fort suddenly shone like a mirror, reflecting the surrounding landscape, soil, sky. Taking a few more steps, he noticed the same change in the other wall of the fort. It seemed as if the gray uneven surface was suddenly replaced by a polished one. It was a hot day, and the walls must have become very hot, which was the key to their specularity. It turned out that a mirage is observed whenever the wall is heated enough by the sun's rays. I even managed to photograph this phenomenon.

On hot summer days, one should pay attention to the heated walls of large buildings and look for mirage phenomena. No doubt, with some attention, the number of cases of lateral mirage seen should become more frequent.

Fata Morgana

Complex mirage phenomena with a sharp distortion of the appearance of objects are called Fata morgana.

volumetric mirage

In the mountains, it is very rare, under certain conditions, that you can see the “distorted self” at a fairly close distance. This phenomenon is explained by the presence of "stagnant" water vapor in the air.

Notes

see also

• Brocken ghost

Links

• // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.

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See what "Mirage" is in other dictionaries:

- (fata morgana in Italy, haze in Russia) an optical phenomenon consisting in the fact that objects outside the horizon become visible, and those within it seem enlarged or doubled. Observed m. in hot and cold ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Cm … Synonym dictionary

MIRAGE, mirage, husband. (French mirage). 1. An optical phenomenon in a clear, calm atmosphere with different heating of its individual layers, consisting in the fact that invisible objects located beyond the horizon are reflected in a refracted form in the air. ... ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

Modern Encyclopedia

Fata Morgana, a haze (looming) optical phenomenon in which objects beyond the horizon become visible. M. is explained by the uneven heating of the layers of air, as a result of which the rays from objects when moving from one ... ... Marine Dictionary

Mirage F1 Purpose: fighter bomber First flight: December 23, 1966 ... Wikipedia

Mirage F1 Purpose: fighter bomber First flight: December 23, 1966 ... Wikipedia

mirage- MIRAGE, haze, book. Fata Morgana … Dictionary-thesaurus of synonyms of Russian speech

Mirage- Mirage ♦ Mirage A misleading picture created by the temperature difference between overlapping layers of air. In a broader sense, a mirage based on metaphor is called, in the words of Alain, “a heart-pleasing mistake in ... ... Philosophical Dictionary of Sponville

Mirage- (French mirage), an optical phenomenon in the atmosphere, in which, in addition to (or instead of) objects in their true position, their imaginary images are also visible. The mirage is explained by the curvature of the rays of light coming from an object in unequally heated and ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Books

• Mirage, Igor Dikhter, "Mirage" is a collection of three stories in the slash genre. One is mystical, the second is psychedelic and fantastic, and the third is romantic and a little sentimental. About love…… Category:

If you have ever walked through the endless desert or hot asphalt on a hot summer day, then you probably noticed something like a puddle on the horizon. This phenomenon is called a mirage. It confuses entire caravans, gives empty hopes to wanderers and interferes with rescue operations. Today we will tell you why this natural illusion is formed.
People have met mirages in the distant past. The literature describes in sufficient detail the fact of the meeting of the soldiers of the crusaders with such an amazing phenomenon in the Palestinian desert. In ancient Egypt, for example, mirages were perceived as a kind of image of the past - something that existed many years ago.

What is a mirage?
Mirage is an optical phenomenon, which makes it unique and unpredictable. It is simple and complex. Simple mirages will be, for example, images of a water surface on a road or in fields, deserts, and complex ones will be a vision of fabulous structures frozen in the sky.
The researchers found that a mirage is an optical natural illusion that occurs due to the refraction of light rays between layers of air of different density and temperature. Objects that appear on the horizon do exist, but at a great distance from the point at which we see them. This is a kind of projection of the image, which occurs away from the original depicted object.

Mirage is often referred to as an "atmospheric mirror". In the mountains, for example, a person can meet his reflection. This phenomenon is formed due to the presence of stagnant water vapor in the atmosphere. Most often, a mirage is not found in deserts, as many believe, but on the contrary - in a cold climate.

There are many types of mirages:

• In the case of a "side" mirage, the air layers are shifted from a horizontal position to an "at an angle" position. Such a phenomenon can be seen at dawn, near the sea or other body of water. If we notice a real ship approaching the shore, a copy of it will appear next to it, moving in the opposite direction at the same speed.

• "Distant Mirage" - the famous ghost ship "Flying Dutchman". All sailors are afraid of this vision, as they consider it a bad sign. Such a mirage appears when the air is excessively heated from the ground, and then it rises and gradually cools. If during the ascent this layer meets with warmer layers, a phantom will appear.

• Fata Morgana is the most amazing and mystical kind of mirage. This is not just a projection of an object, but also its “copy”. As the distance changes, objects also become too distorted and take on a monstrous fantastic look. One day, French soldiers were moving through the desert. In the distance, they noticed a flock of flamingos, which followed one after another. At a time when the soldiers began to come closer, the birds turned into riders in white robes.

Where are mirages most common?
Scientists believe that a mirage can be found anywhere on our planet and even in the stratosphere. Cosmonaut Georgy Mikhailovich Grechko, while in space, took a photograph of an ice floe hovering in the air above the clouds.
But there are places where mirages occur more often than usual and for this you do not need to fly into space.
For example - Alaska is considered the most popular place for observing mirages. The explanation is very simple - the climate. The colder the air, the more distinct and clearer this natural phenomenon looks. In 1889, in the southeastern part of Alaska, one of the locals, walking near Mount Fairweather, saw the image of a huge city with skyscrapers, towers and temples. Although the source of the mirage was hundreds of kilometers from the peninsula.

A thousand tourists contemplated something similar in the city of Penglai, on the east coast of China. Due to heavy rains that lasted for several days, a very dense fog formed and subsequently formed a mirage with very high clarity. For four hours, the inhabitants of this city watched the illusory buildings, wide avenues filled with people and cars.
The inhabitants of France have repeatedly observed how on the horizon of the Mediterranean Sea, where it is no longer possible to distinguish water from the sky, the ridge of the Corsican Mountains rises from the sea surface, although the distance to the mainland is about two hundred kilometers.
Despite quite logical explanations from the point of view of physics, mirages remain something mystical and mysterious for us. And how much more nature is fraught with phenomena, the origin of which will remain a mystery to us.

I have been interested in mysterious natural phenomena since childhood. One of them is mirages. After all, it's just magic - to see something that is not there or is located hundreds of kilometers from the observer. Fairytale, isn't it? As a child, everything seems so simple. Mirage is a small miracle. By the way, not only children think so. After reading a large number of different articles, I made a small discovery for myself. It turns out that people saw mirages in ancient times. And they explained them by the usual intervention of gods or spirits. This information is still kept in various legends.

The crusaders, who went with their good purpose to Palestine, described the mirages especially colorfully and vividly. But, unfortunately, no one believed them. Well, they were very fond of in those days to compose fairy tales about the wonders of the East.

Even before the Crusaders, mirages were observed, and quite often, by the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt. They believed that mirages are nothing but the ghost of a country that disappeared many hundreds of years ago. According to this legend, every place on earth has its own soul. And now the soul of the lost country wandered in the vast Egyptian deserts, trying to find peace.

Yes, the ancients believed in miracles. It turns out that everything is much simpler and the intervention of otherworldly forces for the emergence of mirages is not necessary. In a purely scientific definition, a mirage (fr. mirage - lit. visibility) is nothing more than an optical phenomenon in the atmosphere, due to which images of objects appear in the visibility zone, which under normal conditions are hidden from observation.

That is, a mirage is nothing more than a play of light rays. The fact is that in the desert the earth warms up very much. But at the same time, the temperature of the air above the earth at different distances from it varies greatly. For example, the temperature of an air layer ten centimeters above ground level is 30-50 degrees lower than the surface temperature.

All the laws of physics say that light in a homogeneous medium propagates in a straight line. However, under such extreme conditions, the law does not apply. But what happens? The rays simply begin to be refracted at such temperature differences, and at the very earth they generally begin to be reflected, while creating illusions that we used to call mirages. That is, the air at the very surface becomes a mirror.

Although mirages are usually associated with deserts, they can often be observed over the water surface, in the mountains, and sometimes even in large cities. In other words, wherever there is a sharp change in temperature, you can observe these fabulous pictures.

This phenomenon is quite common. For example, in the largest desert of our planet, about 160 thousand mirages are observed annually.

How did the scientific observation of mirages develop?

The first and honorable place can be given to Monsieur Gaspard Monge. This man in 1799 was the first to give a written explanation of this phenomenon, which is quite similar to the modern one. He participated in the Egyptian campaign of the famous commander Napoleon Bonaparte. The members of this expedition went in the direction of the Nile. The monotonous and rather dull appearance of the plains was broken only occasionally by small hillocks, on which villages were sometimes visible.

And then one day the soldiers noticed that periodically the plains seemed to be flooded with water, and the villages seemed to them to be small islands. At the same time, what especially struck the people from the expedition, under each of these islands was its mirror reflection, and the sky was also reflected.

Naturally, coming closer, the mirage dissipated. Naturally, the soldiers interpreted this as the intrigues of enemies and alien gods. And Monsieur Monge explained everything from a scientific point of view, which incomparably helped Bonaparte to restore order in the ranks.

The second place, no doubt, deserved the commander of the ship "Baffin". A significant event occurred in the distant 1820. In the ship's log, he described the most wonderful city, in which there are a huge number of ancient castles and temples. Moreover, this phenomenon was not only recorded, but also sketched in the most detailed way by the same captain. Naturally, his evidence was not confirmed.

The third place can be given to the inhabitants of a small island in the north of England. They saw magnificent white buildings in the sky in 1840. They had never seen anything like it and decided that it was the famous crystal city inhabited by the Finn people. By the way, it is interesting that this vision was repeated after 17 years for three hours.

It is very interesting that although mirages are considered the children of the deserts, Alaska has long been recognized as the undisputed leader in their occurrence. The colder, the clearer and more beautiful the observed mirage.

As common as this phenomenon is, it is very difficult to study it. Why? Yes, everything is very simple. No one knows where and when he will appear, what he will be like and how long he will live.

After a lot of all kinds of records about mirages appeared, naturally they had to be classified. It turned out that, despite all their diversity, only six types of mirages were identified: lower (lake), upper (arise in the sky), side, Fata Morgana, ghost mirages and werewolf mirages.

A more complex type of mirage is called " Fata Morgana". No explanation has yet been found for it. It is customary to refer to the variety of mirages as the aurora borealis or werewolf mirages.

Inferior (lake) mirage.

These are the most common mirages. They got their name because of the places of their origin. As you probably already guessed, Bonaparte's expedition saw them. They are observed on the surface of the earth and water (no wonder their middle name is "lake").

This type of mirage is as simple in origin as the previous one. However, such mirages are much more diverse and beautiful.

They appear in the air. The most spectacular of these are the famous ghost towns. It is very interesting that they usually represent images of objects - cities, mountains, islands - that are many thousands of kilometers away.

Side mirages

They occur near vertical surfaces that are strongly heated by the sun. These can be rocky shores of the sea or lake, when the shore is already illuminated by the Sun, and the surface of the water and the air above it are still cold. This type of mirage is very common in Lake Geneva.

Fata Morgana

Fata Morgana is the most difficult type of mirage. It is a combination of several forms of mirages at once. At the same time, the objects that the mirage depicts increase many times over and are quite distorted.

Interestingly, this type of mirage got its name from Morgana, the sister of the famous Arthur. She allegedly resented Lancelot for rejecting her. To spite him, she settled in the underwater world and began to take revenge on all men, deceiving them with phantom visions.

To fata morganam can be attributed to numerous flying dutchmen “which sailors still see.

They usually show ships that are hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away from observers.

Ghost mirages or werewolf mirages.

They produce a special psychological effect on their victims. Some visions baffle even modern scientists. For example, the French colonial detachment crossed the Algerian desert. Nearby they saw a flock of flamingos. But as soon as they crossed the border of the mirage, instead of two legs, each had four. A real Arabian rider in white.

The commander of the detachment, of course, was frightened and sent a scout to check what kind of people were in the desert. When the soldier got into the mirage zone, he figured everything out. But the metamorphosis that happened to him, observed by his comrades, plunged them into shock. The legs of his horse became so long that it seemed that he was sitting on a fantastic monster.

Perhaps there is nothing more to say about the varieties of mirages.

I would like to add that although this is an extremely beautiful and mysterious sight, it is also very dangerous. I kill mirages and drive their victims insane. This is especially true of desert mirages. And the explanation of this phenomenon does not alleviate the fate of travelers.

However, people are trying to fight it. They create special guides, which indicate the places of the most frequent occurrence of mirages, and sometimes their forms.

Well, like everything. By the way, mirages are obtained in the laboratory. Another mystery, hopefully solved. Thank you for your attention.