Floating Ship Illusion is finally explained, the pictures of hovering ships are going viral on the internet and this is the secret behind it.
Three large ships and cruise ships can be seen floating in the air above the water’s surface in a picture that is going viral worldwide.
This scene was captured on Pontoon Beach in Devon, in which the whole hovering ship can be seen in one picture. Undoubtedly it can be called a beautiful poster picture. A phenomenon is making these ships as if they are flying or hovering in the air.
Floating Ship Illusion
According to experts, it is called a mirage-like visual deception technically called ‘FATA Morgana‘. In Fata Morgana, when the sea’s temperature or the earth’s surface rises due to the sun’s heat, this difference causes the rays of light to turn. The water-like object in the desert or the boats on the sea appears floating in the air.
In this process, hot air is present on the surface of the cold air, and the light coming from the ship becomes oblique, and the ship looks high above sea level.
According to some people, the epidemic of COVID-19 has stopped the movement of ships in Britain, and the majority of these ships are anchored in the sea.
Another similar photo was taken last year showing a red ship floating in the air off the coast of Aberdeenshire.
This isn’t a very good explanation. What does it mean for light to be oblique? The word has multiple definitions and none of them are very precise and thus don’t serve much as an explanation. Why is the view of the water not raised along with the ship? One would expect continuity of touching objects, where if the boat is touching the water, even in a case of deforming image, it would still be touching the water. If the light is bent, why isn’t the light coming off the water bent in the same way? There must be a physical explanation for this, but it is not explained here.
Comparing it to a fata morgana also seems rather incorrect, as that is more of a mirror-like effect that you can see reflections in (and since water is reflective in a similar way, it often reminds people of that). That reflectivity can be observed on a long road on a hot day by any driver, but it does not look like what’s going on here. At least judging from these photos and videos.
The floating ship illusion is caused by a phenomenon called light refraction. Refraction occurs when light travels from one medium to another, such as from air to water. When light is refracted, it bends. The amount of bending depends on the density of the two mediums.
In the case of the floating ship illusion, the light rays from the ship are being bent as they pass through the air to reach our eyes. This is because the air near the water is cooler and denser than the air higher up. Denser air bends light more than less dense air.
As a result of the refraction, the light rays from the ship reach our eyes from a higher angle than they would if the air was not bending them. This makes the ship appear to be floating above the water.
The water itself also refracts light, but not as much as the air. This is because water is much denser than air. So, the light rays from the water are not bent as much as the light rays from the ship. This is why the view of the water is not raised along with the ship.
The floating ship illusion is most commonly seen in the morning or evening, when the temperature difference between the air and the water is greatest. The illusion is also more likely to be seen in calm conditions, when the water surface is smooth.
I hope this explanation is helpful. Please let me know if you have any other questions.