Why is the sky blue and sunsets red?
I know this is a basic question but I want to actually understand it, not just the 'Rayleigh scattering' answer that doesn't explain anything. If blue light scatters more, why isn't the sky violet since violet has an even shorter wavelength? And why does the sky turn red at sunset? Does pollution affect the colors?
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There's a great explanation of this on the HowStuffWorks website, and the NASA site has good material too if it's space-related. Both are written for normal people, not scientists, so you won't get lost in jargon.
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There's a great explanation of this on the HowStuffWorks website, and the NASA site has good material too if it's space-related. Both are written for normal people, not scientists, so you won't get lost in jargon.
This is something I struggled with until a professor explained it using an analogy that finally clicked. The real world is messy and doesn't always fit neatly into the simplified models we learn in textbooks.
I'd recommend the book 'A Brief History of Time' by Stephen Hawking, or for the math side, 'The Joy of x.' Your library has them. They're written for curious regular people. You don't need a degree to understand the big ideas.
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