Mirage phenomenon

In the most common type of mirage, an object appears to be reflected as if there were a pool of water on the ground. This phenomenon is caused by light refraction — the bending of light beams.

Light bends when it passes from one medium into another — from air to water, for example, or even from cooler air to hotter air. This may seem like a strange idea, but it's really very simple.

Imagine you're pushing a shopping cart across a parking lot.

Mirage formation

If you're exerting a constant force, the cart's speed depends on the medium it's traveling on — in this case, the parking lot's paved surface. What happens when you push the shopping cart out of the parking lot, onto a grassy area?

If you push it straight onto the grass, it will simply slow down. The grass medium offers more resistance, so it takes more energy to move the shopping cart.

But if you push the cart onto the grass at an angle, something else happens.

If the right wheel hits the grass first, it will slow down while the left wheel is still on the pavement. Because the left wheel is briefly moving more quickly tha

why is mirage formed

mirage in desert