🔬 Science & Cosmos
Why the Sky Is Blue
Rayleigh scattering
The Modern Polymath@modern_polymath•2 min read
Sunlight Is Every Colour1 / 3
White sunlight is a mix of all visible colours. When it enters the atmosphere, it meets countless nitrogen and oxygen molecules, far smaller than the wavelength of light. These tiny particles scatter short wavelengths much more than long ones.
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The colour of the sky is a story about size: of molecules and of light waves.
Blue Wins the Bounce2 / 3
Blue light is scattered several times more strongly than red, so it bounces around the sky and reaches our eyes from every direction. Look anywhere away from the sun and you see that scattered blue glow.
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What we call the colour of the sky is really light that took a detour.
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