The sun, which heats and illuminates our Earth, thanks to which the world is painted in different colors, emits pure white light. But when we look at the sky, we see blues and blues. Why not white, since the color of the sun's rays was originally the same, and the air is transparent?
Why do we see the sky blue?
White is made up of seven colors of the rainbow. That is, white is a mixture of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, blue, purple. The Earth's atmosphere is made up of a mixture of gases. The sun's rays, reaching the Earth, meet gas molecules. Here the rays are reflected and decomposed into seven colors of the spectrum. The rays of the red spectrum (this includes: red, orange, yellow) are longer, they, for the most part, pass directly to the ground, without lingering in the atmosphere. The rays of the blue spectrum (green, cyan, blue, violet) are shortwave. They bounce off the air molecules in different directions (scatter) and fill the upper atmosphere. Therefore, the entire sky is permeated with blue light, spreading in different directions.
It is worth clarifying why we do not see the sky green, but rather blue. This happens because the colors of the blue spectrum are mixed with each other and the result is a blue sky. In addition, the human eye perceives blue color better than, for example, violet. Then another interesting point is why the sky is blue and the sunset is red. The fact is that during the day the sun's rays are directed perpendicular to the surface of the Earth, and during sunset and sunrise - at an angle. With this position of the rays relative to the Earth, they have to move in the atmosphere over long distances, so the waves of the short spectrum go to the sides and become invisible, and the waves of the long spectrum are partially scattered over the sky. Therefore, we see sunset and sunrise in red-orange tones.
How to explain to a child why the sky is blue?
Now that we ourselves have figured out the color of the sky, let's think about how to make an explanation of the question why the sky is blue available to children. For example, you can do this: the sun's rays, reaching the Earth's atmosphere, meet with air molecules. Here the sunbeam decomposes into colored light waves. As a result, red, orange, yellow light continues to move towards the Earth, and the colors of the blue spectrum are retained in the upper layers of the atmosphere and distributed over the sky, painting it blue.
Knowing your children and their level of knowledge about our planet, you yourself can understand how it is easier to explain to your child why the sky is blue.
Why the sky is blue?
"Dad, why is the sky blue and not, say, green or purple?"
Children, when they begin to study the world around them, very actively ask questions. Hundreds of questions a day about everything that gets into the spotlight. Only the "why - why" is heard. And dad (or mom), well, cannot “fall face down in the mud” and lose credibility by saying “I don’t know”. How can this even be, because he has been living for a very long time and knows such elementary things for sure from his childhood?
And dad, of course, knows why this sky is suddenly blue 😉, and if he suddenly forgot something, then he carefully reads what is written below.
What color is the sunlight?
To understand the color of the sky, and to understand why it is like that, you first need to find out what color the sunlight has. This question seems elementary.
"Yellow" - the kid will tell you, but then he will have to be surprised for the first time.
"And here it is not yellow!"
O_O - the baby will have approximately the same eyes (there is clearly something wrong with the dad).
“Look, raise your head, dad! It's yellow! Why is it not? Very much yes! "
"Oh no!" Then dad makes an authority figure and says:
"In fact, the color of the sun and its rays is white, and the fact that we see it yellow is because it becomes that way after passing through the air."
What is white made of?
"What colors do you know?" - the child's dad asks.
"Green, yellow, red, white ..." - the baby begins to list.
“Good girl! All the colors that you listed, except for white, are simple colors. But white is special! In nature, there is no just white, but it appears when you put all the simple colors together.
It's like in a game, when you need to collect parts of an object. Here you take one part, the second, the third, etc., and when you collect everything - TADAM! You get the whole item! So is white - it consists of all colors, and if at least some shade is taken from it, it will no longer be white. Clear?"
"Yeah," the baby nods.
So what's with the color of the sky? Why is it blue?
“All this is very interesting, but, in my opinion, you are moving away from the topic. How about the color of the sky? Why is it like that? "
“I’m just getting there. I told you elementary things so that more complex ones could be explained on the fingers.
As for the sky, I must say this. Scientists have not yet found an absolutely exact answer, but there are two simple theories, which explain why the shade of the sky is blue. I'll tell you both.
The first theory:
A large number of particles fly in the air that surrounds the earth - these are various gases, dust particles, water particles, etc. When a white ray from the sun (and it, as you remember, not by itself, but all colors together) hits the air, then colliding with air particles and particles that fly in the air, it begins to crumble into the colors of which it consisted.
It turned out that not all of them are equally nimble, some are very clumsy, they scatter in the air, colliding with some particles, while others, very fast, dodge collisions and reach the Earth.
Blue rays are clumsy, they hit obstacles more often than others and scatter (fly away) on all sides, illuminating the air with blue light.
Second theory a little more complicated:
Scientists suggest that particles of the air that surrounds the Earth absorb the sun's rays. They are, as it were, charged from these rays, and then begin to emit their own light on all sides.
Well, for example, like a door on a stove. Do you remember how I showed you how the door was black at first, and then warmed up and warmed up and began to glow red? Do you remember? "
“Yeah, I remember. Why did you remember the stove? " ...
“Because it’s the same here. Air particles receive energy from the sun's rays and then begin to glow. Different gases glow differently. The fact that we see the sky blue, according to this theory, it is thanks to the gases that make up our air (oxygen and nitrogen) that they emit a blue color. But if instead of them there were, for example, neon (there is such a gas), then the sky would glow with a red-orange color, but we would not be able to enjoy this spectacle, because could not breathe.
Therefore, I think that even if it remains blue, blue is also nothing, right? "
“I agree,” the kid nodded, and after a minute, seeing the dog, he asked the following vital question: “Dad, eh
Sunlight is white, meaning it includes all the colors of the spectrum. It would seem that the sky should also be white, but it is blue.
Surely your child knows the phrase "Every Hunter Wants to Know Where the Pheasant Sits", which helps to remember the colors of the rainbow. And the rainbow is the best way to understand how light breaks down into waves of different frequencies. The longest wavelength is for red, the shortest is for violet and blue.
The air, which contains gas molecules, micro-crystals of ice and water droplets, scatters light with a short wavelength more strongly, so there are eight times more blue and purple in the sky than red. This effect is called Rayleigh scattering.
Draw an analogy with balls rolling down a corrugated board. The larger the ball, the less likely it is to stray off course or get stuck.
Explain why the sky cannot be other colors
Why isn't the sky purple?
It is logical to assume that the sky should be purple, because this color has the shortest wavelength. But here the features of sunlight and the structure of the human eye come into play. The spectrum of sunlight is uneven, with fewer shades of violet than other colors. And the human eye does not see part of the spectrum, which further reduces the percentage of shades of violet in the sky.
Why isn't the sky green?
amopintar.comA child may have a question: "Since the scattering increases with decreasing wavelength, why is the sky not green?" Not only blue rays are scattered in the atmosphere. Their wave is the shortest, so they are the most visible and brightest. But if the human eye was arranged differently, the sky would seem green to us. After all, the wavelength of this color is slightly longer than that of blue.
Light is not like paint. If you mix green, blue and purple paints, you get a dark color. With light, the opposite is true: the more colors are mixed, the lighter the result is.
Tell us about the sunset
We see blue skies when the Sun shines from above. When it approaches the horizon, and the angle of incidence of the sun's rays decreases, the rays go tangentially, passing a much greater path. Because of this, waves of the blue-blue spectrum are absorbed in the atmosphere and do not reach the Earth. In the atmosphere, the red and yellow colors are scattered. Therefore, at sunset, the sky turns red.
How nice it is to go out into nature on a clear day and enjoy the good view, wonderful weather and blue skies. The most beautiful is the azure sky. People have been admiring them for so long that they even came up with the name of the color - "sky blue". However, you know, the Martians will fundamentally disagree with such a statement. On Mars, the sky can be purple, pink and red. Completely different. So why is the sky blue on Earth? Indeed, why is the sky blue?
This question has been plaguing people for a very long time. And more or less grounded theories that explain the essence began to appear only in the 19th century. Some said that gases and water crystals glow blue, some said that dust reflects all other colors, but let's turn to modern theories and let them explain to us why the sky is blue.
Some fun physics.
The sun emits a bright white light. This is how astronauts see him. On Earth, on the other hand, light passes through the atmosphere and is scattered due to the shape (like through a lens) and composition (suspended particles and gases) of our air shell. Diffraction of light occurs, that is, the splitting of white into all of its components.
Here we must remember about the rainbow.
Every Hunter Wants To Know Where The Pheasant Sits. Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan and blue. All these colors are components of white. Rainbow - the same diffraction, only through raindrops. Light travels in waves. Each color has its own wavelength and corresponding properties. Red light is long wavelength. It passes well through the thickness of the air, and practically does not dissipate. Therefore, when we look at the sun, it is white or red. Blue waves are shorter. This is due to its greater dispersion. Therefore, the entire sky, except for the sun and its crown, is blue.
The next time someone asks you "why is the sky blue?" This will definitely make an impression on the interlocutor.
Everyone has long known how curious children are. They sometimes ask questions that drive adults into the paint. It seems that everything is elementary and simple, however, it is difficult for many parents to give an answer at the same moment. In order not to get into such difficult and awkward situations when talking with a child, you need to prepare thoroughly for them.
Therefore, we will analyze the questions that are most often heard from the lips of children and that interest adults.
The phrase asking about the shade of the skies puts many parents in a rather awkward position. Children are interested in why the skies are light blue, not yellow, not red, because space is black? But if we, adults, find it difficult to answer, it means that we ourselves do not really know the answer to this question, and it never occurred to us to ask it. And many, not knowing the correct answer, translate the topic.
Light, which consists of 7 shades of the spectrum, usually passes through the atmosphere. The solar photons collide with the multitude of gas molecules in the air. This leads to the phenomenon of scattering. The most interesting is the point concerning the number of particles that are involved in the emission of a short wave of blue tint. There are 8 times more of them. It turns out that on the way to Earth, the shade of the sun's rays changes from white to light blue. How can you explain all this to a child? But the child is still very young, what can we say to him about the photons of the sun's rays, which collide with gas molecules.
Short answer in conversation for children
The air that surrounds us contains tiny and constantly moving particles - gases, dust particles, specks, water vapor. They are so small that they can only be seen under a microscope, and sunlight is a harmony of seven shades. A ray that travels through the air has to collide with small particles. And this leads to the fact that the shades in it are separated. And since there is more light blue in the color spectrum, we only see it. Or you can simply answer briefly that the sun's rays color the air in a light blue tint.
Joking (original) answer
Everyone thinks that the air is transparent, but it is light blue. We are very, very far from the sun. Looking at the top, we can only see a thick layer of air. It is so clean that it appears light blue. It is also possible and joking to answer that it is light blue, because in the game, the faster one always wins the light blue tint.
Funny answer for adults
Why the sky is blue? - This is all my dear, the blue always has this!
Video presentation to children
Why is the sea blue, the grass green and the sunset red?
Sea
The shade of the sea water depends on how deep the rays penetrate. The sea has good ability to absorb and scatter any rays. But the yellow tint of the beam is absorbed much faster, even not at depth. And the absorption of the blue tint of the beam is very slow, even at great depths. Therefore, it seems to us that the water in the sea is blue. The shade of the sea can be transparent, blue or green.
Grass
The green leaf absorbs carbon dioxide into the cells, while releasing oxygen into the air. This is extremely necessary for him. But what is the reason? The sun is the main source of life. The sun's rays hit the leaves. Their cells contain a green-colored substance - chlorophyll. Leaves and grass, thanks to the content of chlorophyll, which is involved in the production of essential nutrients, thrive.
The substances produced by chlorophyll are well known to us in the form of sugar, starch and protein. They are found both in the composition of the cells of plants, animals, and in the cells of the human body. And the production of these nutrients comes from carbon dioxide. The green leaf is an amazing factory. If the sun's rays touched the leaf, then we can say about their wonderful life. If there is no sunlight, then there is no factory either.
Sunset
You have probably wondered often about the color of the sky at sunset. Perhaps many are interested in why the skies at sunset are sometimes scarlet and sometimes red. What is the reason for this?
This is because red is the longest wavelength light. He can break through a thick layer of air. But why does it look light blue only in clear weather?
And this is also explained quite simply. When the weather is cloudy, most of the sun's rays simply do not reach the earth's surface. And what can still break through begins to refract water droplets suspended in the air. Distortion of the light wave occurs. If the color of the skies is gray, then this is the same process, but with larger clouds. So we have sorted out the question regarding the blueness of the skies and the redness of the sunset. These questions can be studied in more detail by getting acquainted with the objective laws of physics.
Why are the skies blue from the point of view of science: physics, chemistry?
Our planet is surrounded by air, which forms the atmosphere. The atmospheric air contains a large amount of oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, water vapor, microscopic dust particles that are constantly moving.
Sunlight manages to penetrate the atmospheric layers of the air. The gases contained in the air work in the decomposition of white light into 7 constituent parts, spectra. These are all the colors of the rainbow and that is why it seems to us that the sky is light blue. The moon has no atmosphere and appears to be black. Astronauts entering orbit in spaceships manage to see a beautiful black velvet sky with sparkling stars and planets.
Wikipedia about the blue color of the sky
Wikipedia informs that the sky only looks light blue. In reality, all other colors of the rays are scattered by the sky, besides the light blue, blue and violet. All of them together seem to us light blue.
What makes it light blue?
Sunlight has 7 colors in its spectrum, which are combined together - red, orange, yellow, light blue, blue and purple. You can see the pictures, remember the rainbow. Each ray needs to pass through a thick layer of air. And at that moment, the shades splatter. At the same time, light blue is visible to us more than others, since it is very persistent.
What does the Bible say: why is the sky blue?
The sky is light blue, because the Almighty wanted to create it just like that.
Expression about blue sky translated into English
Out of a clear blue sky - clear blue sky.
Scientists find blue skies on Pluto and traces of lakes on Mars
Scientists have managed to find organic particles in Pluto's atmosphere called tholins. They themselves are gray or red. When they reflect sunlight, the atmosphere of this planet appears light blue. In addition, several small areas were found here, which are covered with ice.
Another discovery has a connection with the planet Mars. Scientists prove that in the distant past for many years, the surface of this planet was covered with lakes. Not long before this, there was some evidence of the existence of salt water on Mars. It is the salt water flow that many scientists believe is responsible for the dark streaks on the planet's surface. They appear at the moment when the temperature on this planet rises above - 23 degrees. Disappear when the cold comes.
