Mirage is what? The meaning of the word "mirage"

The article tells about what a mirage is, because of what a similar phenomenon arises, what it can be dangerous and what kinds of it are.

Around us every second there is a lot of physical, chemical and other processes. True, most of them have a form that people are used to and no longer pay any attention. For example, boiling water on the stove, which turns into steam. But even if you think about a more global scale, for example, about the burning of the Sun, this fact is still very few people will be surprised. But in fact, in fact, there are amazing and so far unrealistic reactions for the reproduction of man. But such arguments can be interested, perhaps, only a man that is genuinely fond of science.

However, sometimes there are situations when the simplest and harmless natural phenomena and physical processes can greatly surprise, confuse, and very rarely even kill a person. More correctly, only to push it to some unreasonable destructive actions. And one of these is a mirage.

Mirage ... This word probably heard all the people, and it is associated primarily with hot deserts, where the miserable travelers, seeing the illusory oases, rushed to them. However, not everyone knows what results in such visions and what kinds of visions they 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". Mirage is one of the most widespread optical illusions that arises from the refraction of light rays on the boundary between air layers, which differ sharply in their temperature. And sometimes, as a result of the mirage, the observer, in addition to the actually existing distant object, also sees his reflection in the sky. So the mirage is quite a curious optical atmospheric phenomenon. However, for a very long time people could not understand its nature and endowed it with a mystical meaning or took for the machinations of evil spirits. With mirages, many legends and beliefs are connected, especially in the east.

Now let's look at the types of mirages.

Lower

A similar type of mirage is the most common, and many have seen it. To see it, you do not need to be in a hot desert. It is characterized by the fact that as a result of a strong drop in temperature with a height above an even 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 get an imaginary hope for salvation.

Upper

A similar type of mirage is observed usually in cold conditions, when the air temperature rises with increasing altitude, for example, in the polar regions on large flat ice floes. In natural nature, this is rare, and this type of mirage has been seen by far not all eminent travelers who have 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 surface of the Earth, then it 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 of the myths about flying ships - such a mirage at sea makes them visible from behind the horizon and visually greatly increases both the size and speed of the ship's movement.

Side

With the side mirages, everything is not so exciting as with other types. They arise as a result of strong sun heating of vertical surfaces. 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 illusory. So now we know the meaning of the word mirage and sorted out what it is.

Volumetric mirage

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

Culture

Mirage as a phenomenon found a strong reflection in the culture - movies, books, legends and fairy tales. Since the very antiquity of many travelers or explorers, the mirages have been deceived, showing water where it does not exist. And by the way, if you go on a hot day on a flat surface, for example, the road, then the lower mirage will shift further as you approach it. One can only imagine what moral torment was felt 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 that is most common in life and in culture of various kinds. But as you can see, on one of this his varieties do not end.