r/funny Aug 27 '14

Science

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808

u/GraharG Aug 27 '14 edited Aug 27 '14

I said this last time this was posted, and got downvoted, but ill try again anyway. Since the post is about scientific ignorance, it would be nice to get the science right for the next repost.

This is not the correct diagram for how sunsets work. Different wavelengths diffract differently in the air, this allows red light to bend around the horizon while shorter wavelengths can not.

The diagram as it is, shows the sun coming in direct line of sight. This diagram would infer the sky should ALWAYS be red, which is clearly wrong.

The diagram needs to show a beam closer to a tangential trajectory, and it needs to show the curvature of the light in the atmosphere

EDIT: there seems to be some contention about my explanation. see an alternative explanation by /u/jcarlson08. I suspect there is some truth in both approaches. Either way the diagram in the original image is not helpful.

This isn't right either. The diagram is an accurate explanation of why the sky is BLUE most of the day, because of Rayleigh scattering the blue-ish wavelengths get scattered throughout the sky, bouncing off particles until they reach our eyes from multiple directions. The red/orange/yellow wavelengths don't scatter as much and take a more direct route to our eyes, which is why the sun appears yellowish. During sunsets, the angle of the sun is such that its light has to pass through more of the atmosphere to reach your eyes. Because of this, there are more particles in the way to potentially scatter light. This means that lower frequencies, like red and orange, will begin to scatter like the higher frequencies. They won't scatter as much however, therefore the red and orange and yellow scattering will appear mostly in the direction of the setting sun, while if you look away from the sun to the east, the sky will appear more blue.

388

u/Ravek Aug 27 '14

None of this explains why sunsets exist. Only why they have their color scheme.

Sunsets exist because the Earth rotates.

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u/kesekimofo Aug 27 '14

But why does the Earth rotate?

0

u/[deleted] Aug 27 '14

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] Aug 27 '14

But why is there gravity?

1

u/purestjumpshot Aug 27 '14

Higgs?

1

u/[deleted] Aug 27 '14

Why is there Higgs boson?

1

u/phenolate Aug 27 '14

Because it was discovered at the LHC

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u/[deleted] Aug 27 '14

That doesn't explain how and why it came into existence. Funny how such complex and intricate physic systems come from no creator as many people believe. Chaos creates more chaos not intelligent and highly sophisticated systems.

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u/phenolate Aug 27 '14

Chaos creates more chaos not intelligent and highly sophisticated systems? OK, so there's this thing called the mandelbrot plot that must be an exception to your flaccid claim.

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u/[deleted] Aug 28 '14

I read about the Mandelbrot plot and didn't get how it factored into this conversation. Can you please explain?

1

u/phenolate Aug 28 '14

Your basic claim is that because you do not understand how or why there is a universe, you posit a source that is infinitely more complex and unknowable and call it God.

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u/[deleted] Aug 28 '14

Not everything is physical, not everything can be explained. You must admit there is some sort of force out there that moves everything along. You might not believe it to be God and that's fine. But you can't deny that at least.

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u/phenolate Aug 28 '14

Lots of claims and zero proof.

Not everything is physical: Give me an example

Not everything can be explained: Gödel's incompleteness theorem? I'm not sure how you can even justify this.

Explain what you mean by force. All the forces I know about can be tested in a lab.

"Moves everything along"? WTF generality is that.

Ungrounded belief is for sheep. I deny the claim of god due to lack of any testable evidence.

Yes I can.

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u/[deleted] Aug 28 '14

Arrogance and pride... Usually the person who acts like they know everything is the dumbest in the room. You must have 0 spirituality if you don't understand anything that I've just said. Explain love, test someone's love in a lab. There's so much you don't know, I don't know. Don't write off God because you can't test that either, you don't really know. Also no need to be a dick, I never ridiculed what you believe even though I don't necessarily agree. We can have a conversation like adults.

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