Demonstrating the Refractive Properties of Air

Don’t just take the word of scientists who tell you that light bends towards dense air. You can actually check it for yourself! While this is a fun science experiment, it’s also of relevance to believers in the “Flat Earth“ conspiracy theory. Observations of distant object are often affected by refraction, so a discussion of this will go better if you (and they) have some practical experience of how refraction in air works. Transcript: Science tells us that light bends towards air that is more dense. When looking towards the horizon this generally bends the light down because air less dense as you get higher. If there’s large changes in temperature then this can change things. Low cold air bends the light down more, low warm air will bend the light upwards, sometimes creating mirages. But how can you demonstrate this for yourself? It’s actually easy to do with common items. Take a laser pointer and bounce it off a mirror at the other end of t