Lesson 22.

Scattering of Light by the

Atmosphere
Objective discuss how light is
scattered as it passes
At the end 1 through Earth’s
of the
lesson, you atmosphere.
should be
able to:
 Learn about It!

Scattering of Light by the Atmosphere

• Light passes through the gases
in the atmosphere and ended
up being scattered.

• The color of the sky that you

can see is the scattered light
being sent toward you. Earth’s atmosphere
 Learn about It!

Scattering of Light by the Atmosphere

• The atmosphere is made of several gases, mostly nitrogen
and oxygen, which are capable of scattering the light
coming from the sun.

• Those with short wavelength are scattered the most,

whereas those with long wavelength are scattered the
least.
 Learn about It!

Scattering of Light by the Atmosphere

• It is similar to the light passing through a prism wherein the
red light deflects the smallest while the violet light deflects
the most.

• However, instead of being merely deflected, the colors with

shorter wavelength tend to scatter in all direction, while the
colors with longer wavelength stay close to the original
direction of the white light.
 Learn about It!

Blue Sky

• Blue sky occurs because when

the sun is at or near the zenith,
the blue light passing through
the atmosphere is scattered in
all directions.

Blue sky
 Learn about It!

Blue Sky

• The red light diverts only a little

from the original direction of the
white light.

• Zenith is the point in the sky

directly above the observer’s
location.
Blue sky
 Learn about It!

Blue Sky

You can see blue sky

during the day
because most of the
atmosphere scatters
blue color the most.
 Learn about It!

Blue Sky
• White light coming the sun is
scattered less because it
passes through the least
amount of gas in the
atmosphere. Thus, you still
perceive the light from the
sun as white.
Blue sky
 Learn about It!

Blue Sky
• Even if the shortest wavelengths are scattered the most, the
sky still appears blue instead of violet.

• This occurs because some of the violet light rays are

absorbed by the upper atmosphere.

• Another reason is that human eyes are more sensitive to

blue light than to violet light.
 Learn about It!

Sunset and Sunrise

• During sunrise or sunset, the

sky appears as shades of red,
orange, and yellow.

• Colors with longer

wavelengths are scattered the
least, and thus, they are the
ones reaching your eyes. Sunset
 Learn about It!

Sunset and Sunrise

During sunrise or
sunset, light from the
sun passes through
the thickest gas in
the atmosphere,
causing the
wavelengths
scattered the least to
reach the eyes.
 Learn about It!

White Clouds
• Clouds appear white because
the water droplets in the
clouds scatter all the color
frequencies of white light
equally.

• Before and during the rainfall,

the clouds contain a large
amount of water droplets. Clouds
 Learn about It!

White Clouds

• The clouds are too thick for the

light to pass through, and as a
result, the light ends up being
absorbed.

Clouds
Key Points

The color of the sky that you can see is the scattered light
1 being sent toward you.

Short wavelength are scattered the most, whereas those

2 with long wavelength are scattered the least.

Zenith is the point in the sky directly above the observer’s

3 location.
Key Points

Clouds are mass of water droplets floating in the

4 atmosphere that scatters light differently from that of the
surrounding atmosphere.
 Check Your Understanding

Identify what is described in the statement.

1. This is the point in the sky directly above the observer’s
location. Hence, you see most of the sky as blue.
2. Colors red, yellow, and orange, have this wavelengths.
3. Colors blue and violet have this wavelengths.
4. These are mass of water droplets floating in the
atmosphere.
5. Along with oxygen, this is another abundant gas in the
atmosphere.
 Challenge Yourself

1. What causes the varying colors of the sky?

Explain your answer.

2. How is light scattered in the atmosphere?

 Bibliography

Birky, Jennifer. “The Physics of Rainbows.” Hesston College Physics Homepage. Accessed July 3, 2016.
http://www2.hesston.edu/Physics/Rainbows/research2_paper.htm.

Castro, Joseph. “Why Are Rain Clouds Dark?” Live Science. Accessed July 3, 2016.
http://www.livescience.com/39069-why-are-rain-clouds-dark.html.

Gibbs, Philip. “Why Is the Sky Blue?” The Original Usenet Physics FAQ. Accessed July 3, 2016.
http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/index.html.

Henderson, Tom. “Mirages.” The Physics Classroom. Accessed July 3, 2016.

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/refrn/Lesson-4/Mirages.

Thorsen, Steffen. “Atmospheric Phenomena: Halos, Sundogs and Light Pillars.” Time and Date AS. Accessed
July 3, 2016. http://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/optical-phenomenon.html.