Optical phenomena
Environmental Graffiti has a great post about optical (light) phenomena; I’ve picked out a couple of my favourites: Crepuscular Rays Crepuscular rays are caused by the scattering of beams of light;...
View ArticleSnow-covered UK seen from space
In January I posted an image from NASA’s MODIS satellite showing the UK covered in snow. I’m doing the same for the recent snow; these images were taken today (1st December) between 1110 and 1430. The...
View ArticleArbitrage at the speed of light
arb·it·rage n /ˈɑrbɨtrɑːʒ/ the practice of taking advantage of a price difference between two or more markets. The image most people have of stock markets is of men (and it is always men) in suits...
View ArticleTriboelectric envelope
The triboelectric effect (the prefix tribo– comes from the Greek τρίβω for “rubbing” or “friction”) results in the creation of a charge difference between two surfaces: one becomes positive and the...
View ArticleNight vision
The vision of human beings is well-adapted to daylight; the human eye has evolved to see in the range of wavelengths that are brightest in the spectrum of light that the Sun emits. The intensity of the...
View ArticleCosmic Latte
Cosmic Latte is the jokey name given to the overall colour of the Universe. If all the different wavelengths and intensities of light in the Universe were added together, the result is the light beige...
View ArticleMy favourite photograph from the 2012 Olympics
During the 2012 Olympics, the underwater cameras in the swimming pool have been tweeting regularly. On Sunday, the PoolCam sent out my favourite image of the whole London 2012 Olympic Games: a...
View ArticleDemonstrating refractive index
The refractive index of a material governs how much light bends as the light moves into it. You’ve probably seen this bending effect when looking at the surface of a swimming pool: the bottom of the...
View ArticleOn the emission of light
There are many circumstances in which a system will emit light. During incandescence objects emit light because of their temperature. Everything above absolute zero emits electromagnetic radiation due...
View ArticleTritium Illumination
Radioluminesence is the emission of light due to bombardment by ionising radiation, the most common example of which is tritium illumination. Tritium is an isotope of hydrogen, made up of one proton...
View Article
More Pages to Explore .....