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YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED THE RED SETTING SUN THROUGH SMOKE THIS WEEK. BUT WHAT EXACTLY IS BEHIND THE COLOR CHANGE?
LAST WEDNESDAY A DENSE WALL OF SMOKE ROLLED ACROSS NUMEROUS STATES, ORIGINATING FROM WILDFIRES IN CENTRAL ALBERTA AND SASKATCHEWAN. SINCE THEN WE’VE BEEN LEFT WITH A HAZE IN THE SKY REDUCING VISIBILITY AND CAUSING POOR AIR QUALITY. IT’S BEEN WORSE OUT WEST, MEANING THE SUNLIGHT IS TRAVELING THROUGH SMOKE ON ITS WAY TO US.
AS LIGHT PARTICLES TRAVEL THROUGH PARTICLES IN THE ATMOSPHERE SUCH AS DUST, RAIN, OR SMOKE, THEY CAN BE ABSORBED. THAT MEANS THE ENERGY IS USED UP AND THE LIGHT APPEARS DIMMER.
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BUT LIGHT DOES NOT LOOK THE SAME TO ALL OF US. THOSE THAT ARE COLORBLIND WILL SEE A DIFFERENT WAVELENGTH, OR AMOUNT OF ENERGY – PRODUCING A DIFFERENT COLOR IN OUR BRAINS. BEES AND SPIDERS CAN SEE IN ULTRAVIOLET.
MOST OF US WILL BE ABLE TO SEE THE PINK TO RED FILTER OVER THE SUN. THE SMOKE IS ACTING LIKE A FILTER ON A LENSE AND COMBINING ITS NATURAL BRIGHT WHITE AND YELLOW HUES MOST PEOPLE SEE WITH A FILTER THAT ELIMINATES THE BLUE.
BLUE IS THE FIRST COLOR TO DISAPPEAR BY WAY OF FILTER ABSORPTION BECAUSE IT HAS A SHORTER WAVELENGTH AND TRAVELS THROUGH MORE PARTICLES THAN THE WAVELENGTH THAT APPEARS RED.
