Optical phenomena are any observable events that result from the interaction of

light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...

and

matter In classical physics and general chemistry, matter is any substance that has mass and takes up space by having volume. All everyday objects that can be touched are ultimately composed of atoms, which are made up of interacting subatomic pa ...

. All

optical Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultravio ...

phenomena coincide with

quantum In physics, a quantum (: quanta) is the minimum amount of any physical entity (physical property) involved in an interaction. The fundamental notion that a property can be "quantized" is referred to as "the hypothesis of quantization". This me ...

phenomena. Common optical phenomena are often due to the interaction of light from the Sun or Moon with the atmosphere, clouds, water, dust, and other particulates. One common example is the

rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

, when light from the Sun is reflected and refracted by water droplets. Some phenomena, such as the green ray, are so rare they are sometimes thought to be mythical. Others, such as Fata Morganas, are commonplace in favored locations. Other phenomena are simply interesting aspects of

optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of optical instruments, instruments that use or Photodetector, detect it. Optics usually describes t ...

, or optical effects. For instance, the colors generated by a prism are often shown in classrooms. SunHaloOverGoldenBay4thFeb06

Scope

''Optical phenomena encompass a broad range of events, including those caused by atmospheric optical properties, other natural occurrences, man-made effects, and interactions involving human vision (entoptic phenomena)''. Also listed here are unexplained phenomena that could have an optical explanation and " optical illusions" for which optical explanations have been excluded. There are multiple phenomena that result from either the

particle In the physical sciences, a particle (or corpuscle in older texts) is a small localized object which can be described by several physical or chemical properties, such as volume, density, or mass. They vary greatly in size or quantity, from s ...

or the

wave In physics, mathematics, engineering, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from List of types of equilibrium, equilibrium) of one or more quantities. ''Periodic waves'' oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium ...

nature of light. Some are quite subtle and observable only by precise measurement using scientific instruments. ''A famous example is the bending of starlight by the Sun during a solar eclipse, a phenomenon that serves as evidence for the curvature of space as predicted by the theory of relativity''.

Atmospheric optics

Non-atmospheric optical phenomena

* Dichromatism *

Gegenschein Gegenschein (; ; ) or counterglow is a faintly bright spot in the night sky centered at the antisolar point. The backscatter of sunlight by interplanetary dust causes this optical phenomenon, being a zodiacal light and part of its zodiacal light ...

Iridescence Iridescence (also known as goniochromism) is the phenomenon of certain surfaces that appear gradually to change colour as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes. Iridescence is caused by wave interference of light in microstru ...

* Opposition effect *

Shadow A shadow is a dark area on a surface where light from a light source is blocked by an object. In contrast, shade occupies the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross-section of a shadow is a two-dimensio ...

** Shade **

Silhouette A silhouette (, ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhouett ...

* Sylvanshine * Zodiacal light

Other optical effects

* Asterism, star gems such as star

sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name ''sapphire ...

or star

ruby Ruby is a pinkish-red-to-blood-red-colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapph ...

* Aura, a phenomenon in which gas or dust surrounding an object luminesces or reflects light from the object * Aventurescence, also called the Schiller effect, spangled gems such as aventurine quartz and

sunstone Sunstone is a microcline or oligoclase feldspar, which when viewed from certain directions exhibits a aventurescence, spangled appearance. It has been found in Southern Norway, Sweden, various United States localities and on some beaches along ...

* Baily's beads, grains of sunlight visible in total solar eclipses. *

camera obscura A camera obscura (; ) is the natural phenomenon in which the rays of light passing through a aperture, small hole into a dark space form an image where they strike a surface, resulting in an inverted (upside down) and reversed (left to right) ...

Cathodoluminescence Cathodoluminescence is an optical and electromagnetic phenomenon in which electrons impacting on a luminescent material such as a phosphor, cause the emission of photons which may have wavelengths in the visible spectrum. A familiar example i ...

* Caustics * Chatoyancy, cat's eye gems such as

chrysoberyl The mineral or gemstone chrysoberyl is an aluminate of beryllium with the formula Be Al2 O4. The name chrysoberyl is derived from the Greek words χρυσός ''chrysos'' and βήρυλλος ''beryllos'', meaning "a gold-white spar". Despit ...

cat's eye or aquamarine cat's eye * Chromatic polarization *

Diffraction Diffraction is the deviation of waves from straight-line propagation without any change in their energy due to an obstacle or through an aperture. The diffracting object or aperture effectively becomes a secondary source of the Wave propagation ...

, the apparent bending and spreading of light

s when they meet an obstruction * Dispersion * Double refraction or

birefringence Birefringence, also called double refraction, is the optical property of a material having a refractive index that depends on the polarization and propagation direction of light. These optically anisotropic materials are described as birefrin ...

calcite Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on ...

and other minerals *

Double-slit experiment In modern physics, the double-slit experiment demonstrates that light and matter can exhibit behavior of both classical particles and classical waves. This type of experiment was first performed by Thomas Young in 1801, as a demonstration of ...

Electroluminescence Electroluminescence (EL) is an optical phenomenon, optical and electrical phenomenon, in which a material emits light in response to the passage of an electric current or to a strong electric field. This is distinct from black body light emission ...

* Evanescent wave *

Fluorescence Fluorescence is one of two kinds of photoluminescence, the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. When exposed to ultraviolet radiation, many substances will glow (fluoresce) with colore ...

, also called luminescence or photoluminescence * Mie scattering (Why clouds are white) * Metamerism as of alexandrite *

Moiré pattern In mathematics, physics, and art, moiré patterns ( , , ) or moiré fringes are large-scale wave interference, interference patterns that can be produced when a partially opaque grating, ruled pattern with transparent gaps is overlaid on ano ...

* Newton's rings *

Phosphorescence Phosphorescence is a type of photoluminescence related to fluorescence. When exposed to light (radiation) of a shorter wavelength, a phosphorescent substance will glow, absorbing the light and reemitting it at a longer wavelength. Unlike fluor ...

* Pleochroism gems or

crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

s, which seem "many-colored" *

Rayleigh scattering Rayleigh scattering ( ) is the scattering or deflection of light, or other electromagnetic radiation, by particles with a size much smaller than the wavelength of the radiation. For light frequencies well below the resonance frequency of the scat ...

(Why the sky is blue, sunsets are red, and associated phenomena) * Reflection *

Refraction In physics, refraction is the redirection of a wave as it passes from one transmission medium, medium to another. The redirection can be caused by the wave's change in speed or by a change in the medium. Refraction of light is the most commo ...

* Sonoluminescence ** Shrimpoluminescence * Synchrotron radiation *The separation of light into colors by a prism * Triboluminescence * Thomson scattering *

Total internal reflection In physics, total internal reflection (TIR) is the phenomenon in which waves arriving at the interface (boundary) from one medium to another (e.g., from water to air) are not refracted into the second ("external") medium, but completely refl ...

* Twisted light * Umov effect *

Zeeman effect The Zeeman effect () is the splitting of a spectral line into several components in the presence of a static magnetic field. It is caused by the interaction of the magnetic field with the magnetic moment of the atomic electron associated with ...

*The ability of light to travel through space or through a vacuum.

Entoptic phenomena

of light through the eyelashes * Haidinger's brush * Monocular diplopia (or polyplopia) from reflections at boundaries between the various ocular media * Phosphenes from stimulation other than by light (e.g., mechanical, electrical) of the

rod cell Rod cells are photoreceptor cells in the retina of the eye that can function in lower light better than the other type of visual photoreceptor, cone cells. Rods are usually found concentrated at the outer edges of the retina and are used in ...

s and cones of the eye or of other neurons of the visual system * Purkinje images.

Optical illusions

*The unusually large size of the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

as it rises and sets, the Moon illusion *The shape of the sky, the sky bowl

Unexplained phenomena

Some phenomena are yet to be conclusively explained and may possibly be some form of optical phenomena. Some consider a number of these "mysteries" to simply be local

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beaut ...

s that are not worthy of thorough investigation. * Hessdalen lights * Min Min lights * Light of Saratoga * Naga fireballs

References

Source

External links

Atmospheric Optics
Reference site {{DEFAULTSORT:Optical Phenomenon is:Ljósfræðilegt fyrirbrigði