Why is the sky blue?

[DrPizza]

"Because, that's the color of air."

 

[JetBlack69]

🙁

 

[Heisenberg]

Funny, I always thought it was due to Rayleigh scattering.

 

[imported_Trippin315]

Because it is reflecting off the blue water

 

[Mday]

cuz god painted it blue. ;-)

and O_O

 

[DrPizza]

Why is the sky blue? Usually the books start going on about wavelengths of light, Tyndall effect, and Rayleigh scattering. First they teach some correct but complicated physics. Then they use it to explain blue sky and sunsets. But what happens when you don't understand the physics? Doesn't this make their explanation useless? And do you just give up?

They're wrong: you don't need complicated physics to understand this. The sky is blue for a very simple reason:

AIR IS NOT A TRANSPARENT MATERIAL. INSTEAD IT IS BLUE!

The sky is blue for much the same reason that a cloud of powder is white. Powder isn't invisible. Throw some dust into the air on a sunny day and you'll see a visible white cloud. But what happens if you could throw some AIR? You might think that a cloud of air would be invisible. You'd be wrong. Air isn't invisible, instead it's a powdery-blue substance.

 

[Injury]

Does knowing the answer change anything?

That's why I really don't give a crap.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: Injury
Does knowing the answer change anything?

That's why I really don't give a crap.

Wow, what a creative way to say "nef."
Or was that a creative way to say that you don't like to learn anything?

 

[FoBoT]

so, its like theonion for physics?

 

[Tom]

where does the powdery blue stuff go at night ?

 

[Pantoot]

Originally posted by: Tom
where does the powdery blue stuff go at night ?

The same place your room goes when you turn off your light.

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Pantoot

Originally posted by: Tom
where does the powdery blue stuff go at night ?

The same place your room goes when you turn off your light.

WHERE??

 

[azazyel]

I live in Seattle so I have to ask, what's this blue sky you're talking about?

 

[asm0deus]

light scattering through a gassy atmosphere (rayleigh).. the sun isnt yellow either its white

 

[azazyel]

Originally posted by: asm0deus
light scattering through a gassy atmosphere (rayleigh).. the sun isnt yellow either its white

and grass really isn't green, green is the part of the spectrum that grass reflects.

/not sure if that's true or not

 

[ahurtt]

Originally posted by: Trippin315
Because it is reflecting off the blue water

But why is the water blue?

 

[mordantmonkey]

i beilieve it's the reileigh sp? effect. some principle that gas molecules diffuse light at a wavelength 10x's their diameter. can't remember exactly.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: azazyel

Originally posted by: asm0deus
light scattering through a gassy atmosphere (rayleigh).. the sun isnt yellow either its white

and grass really isn't green, green is the part of the spectrum that grass reflects.

/not sure if that's true or not

That's probably another good example: If someone asks "why is grass green?" the answer is often "because the chlorophyll in the grass is green." Which is simply stating, it's green, because that's what color it is. That it reflects more green than the rest of the visible spectra is the mechanism for it being green...

 

[ahurtt]

Originally posted by: Tom
where does the powdery blue stuff go at night ?

You can't see it any more because it's dark. You need light to see color. Duh.

 

[AgentEL]

Originally posted by: ahurtt

Originally posted by: Trippin315
Because it is reflecting off the blue water

But why is the water blue?

because the sky is blue

 

[mordantmonkey]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: azazyel

Originally posted by: asm0deus
light scattering through a gassy atmosphere (rayleigh).. the sun isnt yellow either its white

and grass really isn't green, green is the part of the spectrum that grass reflects.

/not sure if that's true or not

That's probably another good example: If someone asks "why is grass green?" the answer is often "because the chlorophyll in the grass is green." Which is simply stating, it's green, because that's what color it is. That it reflects more green than the rest of the visible spectra is the mechanism for it being green...

grass is green because the clorophyll absorbs light mostly in the blue and red spectrum in order to produce energy.

 

[imported_Trippin315]

Originally posted by: asm0deus
light scattering through a gassy atmosphere (rayleigh).. the sun isnt yellow either its white

It is actually more of a green yellow in the spectrum. Go stare at it and you will see what I mean.

 

[arcenite]

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: Pantoot

Originally posted by: Tom
where does the powdery blue stuff go at night ?

The same place your room goes when you turn off your light.

WHERE??

I just started laughing in class and the professor looked right at me. Still this was good stuff

 

[Injury]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: Injury
Does knowing the answer change anything?

That's why I really don't give a crap.

Wow, what a creative way to say "nef."
Or was that a creative way to say that you don't like to learn anything?

No, what I'm saying is that the sky will be blue everday, unless the whether has changed it or so forth. Yeah, it's fine to know, but if there is not a certain answer for something I'm not going to rack my brain over trying to figure out something so trivial... ...eh.. I guess trivial isn't the right word to use... but something so "static".

What I'm saying is it's not worth letting it bug you because the sky will always be pretty on nice summer days. 🙂

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: Injury

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: Injury
Does knowing the answer change anything?

That's why I really don't give a crap.

Wow, what a creative way to say "nef."
Or was that a creative way to say that you don't like to learn anything?

No, what I'm saying is that the sky will be blue everday, unless the whether has changed it or so forth. Yeah, it's fine to know, but if there is not a certain answer for something I'm not going to rack my brain over trying to figure out something so trivial... ...eh.. I guess trivial isn't the right word to use... but something so "static".

What I'm saying is it's not worth letting it bug you because the sky will always be pretty on nice summer days. 🙂

Ahhh, I see.
The sky being blue doesn't bug me... but, I find the simplicity of that explanation to be quite annoying.