A Mirage Is Real Light, Bent by Hot Air
A mirage is an optical illusion. The light really is arriving, and the atmosphere is doing the bending.
A mirage is an optical phenomenon in which light is bent by layers of air at different temperatures. It is not a hallucination: a camera records it as readily as an eye. The classic desert mirage is an image of the sky refracted upwards from just above hot ground, which is why it looks exactly like water.
- An optical illusion. *A desert mirage.*
- Something illusory. *The mirage of easy profit.*
- Fata Morgana — a complex mirage. *A Fata Morgana on the horizon.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | mirage | A shimmering mirage. |
| Plural | mirages | Distant mirages. |
| Related | mirror | A cracked mirror. |
| Related | admire | Admire the view. |
| Related | refraction | Atmospheric refraction. |
How it is used in a sentence
- A mirage can be photographed.It is real light, not imagination.
- The road appears wet ahead.An inferior mirage.
- Fata Morgana means Morgan the fairy.After the Arthurian sorceress.
Types of mirage
- Inferior mirage — the image appears below the object, as on a hot road
- Superior mirage — the image appears above, over cold surfaces
- Fata Morgana — a complex stacked mirage distorting distant objects
- Cause — light refracting through layers of air at different densities
- Photographable — mirages are physical, not psychological
From French *mirage*, from *mirer*, to look at, from Latin *mirari*, to wonder at — the same root as *mirror* and *marvel*.
Is a mirage a hallucination?
No. It is genuine light bent by the atmosphere, and it can be photographed. Only the interpretation is mistaken.
What is a Fata Morgana?
A complex mirage that stacks and distorts distant objects, named after the Arthurian enchantress Morgan le Fay.