Mirages

[diane1]

Why do people see mirages, do we just see what we want to be true ie. the oasis in the desert, if we were somewhere very cold would we see a roaring log fire? anyone know?

[treaclefight]

i understood that heat hazes can look like water and thats why people think they have seen an oasis, i dont think its 100% hallucination, so no to the log fire, i admit better explanation is needed

[Squirrel]

The reason water is a popular mirage in hot, flat areas is because the cold air in the atmosphere sinks down below the hot air, then gets quickly heated by the ground and begins to rise. To rise, it has to push its way past more sinking cold air, so there is a constant rippling of hot and cold air at ground level. The difference in refractive index (how much something bends light) between the hot and cold air is big enough to create a visible pulsing effect that kind of looks like a lake. I hope I explained that right.

According to a TV show that was on a while ago, dehydration, hunger and fatigue can all cause hallucination, although I don't know if the apparitions seen are linked to your desires (log fire) or just random stuff.

[diane1]

wow thanks real good explainations thanks a lot

[xyzzy@bok]

A mirage [desert] is, like a rainbow, not an hallucination but a refraction of an actual place [oasis] possiby miles from where you 'see it' :-)

[xyzzy@bok]

Well Einstein's not even English either.. doesn't it mean 'one stone', Einstein? cor, what you got to type the whole lot out for anyway? - just put xyzzy - or xyz even - picky. - i guess you were bored and wanted to use up your quota of space. Be glad my username isn't �*4^��梥e� or something ;-)