Air Mirror

Sit comfortably and check the stripy view at the end of the road. Now heat up the road. (A solid steel plate rapidly heats to 100°, warming the dark sand of the ‘road’ surface). As the air closest the ground heats up, the palm trees shimmer and the stripes begin to deform – with progressive warming they appear to bend and curve. This is a miniature, reversible and repeatable, version of the familiar mirage you see when driving on a bright summer day, when the air is very hot just above the tarmac and cooler above: the apparent wetness of the road is not a reflection of the sky in water, but refraction of sky light through the less-dense warmer air at the road surface.

10581 Illustration alt
thema-Links
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Earth sciences

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Heat transport

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Optics

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Physics

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Projection

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Reflection

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Refraction

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Thermodynamics

dokument-Links
10581 Luft Spiegelung DEFI

Luft Spiegelung (10581)

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11374 Haupt

"Delta Phi"

by Joachim Sauter The chrome-plated surface of the exhibit resembles a strongly moving water surface. Illuminated from above with a torch, the incoming light…

10601 1

2x2 Puzzle

Four cubes fit together in the box. Each cube has 4 quarter-pictures, one on each of 4 faces. The other two faces are transparent, BUT they look onto the…

11798 Detail II

3D-Shadows

A tetrahedron on the ceiling or visitors on a floor panel are illuminated by a red and green lamp and thus cast a red and green shadow on the screen behind…

11976 Phänomen

847 Compass needles

There are 847 compass needles attached to a disc. Because they are so close together, they influence each other. With a magnet, the compass needles can be made…

10104 Detail

A Slice of Turbulence

by Ned Kahn If the crest of the wave collapsed over the surfer off Hawaii and he could bring home a slice of salami from it, he would have the original to the…

10006 Detail

Additive Color Mixing

Light colours are mixed quite differently from paint colours. We have known since childhood that many colours mixed together in a pot of paint produce a dark…

11490 Haupt

Adhesive Air

Air is blown through a large funnel. Stand in front of it, but you will hardly feel it. If you now push the funnel slightly backwards, you will suddenly feel…

10515 Haupt

Aeolian Landscape

by Ned Kahn Alongside water and ice, wind is the shaping element of the natural landscape. This exhibit allows for the pleasurable "terraforming" of gently…

10262 Haupt

Air Bubbles

A pump can be used to force air into a water-filled glass tube. However, not all air bubbles rise vertically. Some do, others choose more of a zigzag or spiral…

11634 Haupt

Air cushion

Inventive talent is called for here! Use scissors and tape to build objects out of paper that float on the wide air cushion. While testing and optimising, you…

11484 1

Air Fountain

This exhibit is not accessible during the winter months. by Daniel Wurtzel A large kinetic sculpture with lots of air. Air flows from the side of a round,…

11478 Haupt

Air lift

A hole in the middle of the table, a tube open at both ends in the hole and a fan in front of it. In this tube there is a free-moving ball that is secured…

10012 Haupt

All Triangels are the same

Using different triangular shapes, congruent shadows are to be cast on a pattern wall with equilateral triangles.

10570 Illustration alt

Anamorphic Images: Cone

On a flat surface the images are distorted beyond recognition – a peculiar visual code requiring a special key. Slip the square sheets over the reflective…

10569 Illustration alt

Anamorphic Images: Cylinder

On a flat surface, the images are distorted beyond recognition - a special visual code needs a special key. Put the square panels over the reflective cylinder:…

10398 Detail

Angled Mirrors

With two mirrors that can be brought to different angles to each other around an axis, polygons (so-called polygons) can be made in a simple way. At very…

10018 Haupt

Anti Gravity Mirror

This mirror construction turns a "half-observer" back into a seemingly complete one, makes one float in space or makes one grow additional pairs of arms or…

10344 Haupt

Ascending magma

by Ned Kahn No, it is not real magma, but this model magma nevertheless makes it clear to us what processes are going on deep under a volcanic vent. Air is…

10030 Haupt

Aurora

A strange "mirror" distorts points of light into long, luminous bands, comparable to the interplay of water and light when the sun rises. Why don't you just…

10598 1

Back View

Step forward to check how neat (or not….) your bum really looks in those cool new jeans: every clothes’ store should have this back-view booth!

10239 1

Ball in a Bowl

Anyone who has ever swung a hula hoop around their waist or a daler in a bowl knows what this is all about. Inside a large Plexiglas ball, two balls can be…

10240 Haupt

Ball in a Bowl

Which of the two balls reaches its destination faster? Of course, the one that runs the shortest distance between the start and the finish - or so you…

10035 Detail

Ball on water-beam

What makes table tennis balls stick to the water fountain? Obviously, the ball does not ride in the middle of the jet and rotates so that it comes towards the…

10572 Illustration alt

Bathroom Mirror

Sit quietly in front of the mirror and look closely at your face: sketch the outline, mouth, nose and eyes as you see them in the mirror. Now look at your…