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Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Scattering

(photo credit: Bethany Ludens)

Why is the sky blue?

Rayleigh Scattering describes how light hits the atmosphere and scatters inelastically, bouncing off itself and other molecules. Light with the shortest wavelengths, blue, collides with the molecules of the atmosphere more because of its rapid oscillation and therefore is scattered the most. The rest of the light falls to Earth, but we see the scattered blue light.

Similarly, when the sun is setting, the light must travel through a greater amount of atmosphere to reach us because of its angle. By the time it reaches our eyes, even the low frequency wavelengths have been scattered and we see the orange and red light.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Fifteen: Feng Shui

I rewarded myself for finishing my organic chemistry midterm by getting a library card and checking out two books on feng shui. Did you know that clutter makes you hold onto the past? If you're having trouble letting go of the junk in your house, try writing a list of your future goals; it will help you move on.