Why are we able to see air bubbles under water?












18












$begingroup$


Title is self explanatory.



I'm assuming both water and air are transparent.



So, if they are true, how can I clearly distinguish an air bubble under water?



enter image description here










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$








  • 4




    $begingroup$
    I would use the term transparent instead of invisible in the question
    $endgroup$
    – user1936752
    Dec 23 '18 at 20:22








  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Ironically we can see the water in your picture. Perhaps it has to do with light.
    $endgroup$
    – KingDuken
    Dec 24 '18 at 21:48






  • 3




    $begingroup$
    Note that it is the same reason as why we can see water drops in air.
    $endgroup$
    – Jan Hudec
    Dec 24 '18 at 22:16
















18












$begingroup$


Title is self explanatory.



I'm assuming both water and air are transparent.



So, if they are true, how can I clearly distinguish an air bubble under water?



enter image description here










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$








  • 4




    $begingroup$
    I would use the term transparent instead of invisible in the question
    $endgroup$
    – user1936752
    Dec 23 '18 at 20:22








  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Ironically we can see the water in your picture. Perhaps it has to do with light.
    $endgroup$
    – KingDuken
    Dec 24 '18 at 21:48






  • 3




    $begingroup$
    Note that it is the same reason as why we can see water drops in air.
    $endgroup$
    – Jan Hudec
    Dec 24 '18 at 22:16














18












18








18


2



$begingroup$


Title is self explanatory.



I'm assuming both water and air are transparent.



So, if they are true, how can I clearly distinguish an air bubble under water?



enter image description here










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$




Title is self explanatory.



I'm assuming both water and air are transparent.



So, if they are true, how can I clearly distinguish an air bubble under water?



enter image description here







optics water air bubble






share|cite|improve this question















share|cite|improve this question













share|cite|improve this question




share|cite|improve this question








edited Jan 7 at 19:45







ihavenoidea

















asked Dec 23 '18 at 19:49









ihavenoideaihavenoidea

2237




2237








  • 4




    $begingroup$
    I would use the term transparent instead of invisible in the question
    $endgroup$
    – user1936752
    Dec 23 '18 at 20:22








  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Ironically we can see the water in your picture. Perhaps it has to do with light.
    $endgroup$
    – KingDuken
    Dec 24 '18 at 21:48






  • 3




    $begingroup$
    Note that it is the same reason as why we can see water drops in air.
    $endgroup$
    – Jan Hudec
    Dec 24 '18 at 22:16














  • 4




    $begingroup$
    I would use the term transparent instead of invisible in the question
    $endgroup$
    – user1936752
    Dec 23 '18 at 20:22








  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Ironically we can see the water in your picture. Perhaps it has to do with light.
    $endgroup$
    – KingDuken
    Dec 24 '18 at 21:48






  • 3




    $begingroup$
    Note that it is the same reason as why we can see water drops in air.
    $endgroup$
    – Jan Hudec
    Dec 24 '18 at 22:16








4




4




$begingroup$
I would use the term transparent instead of invisible in the question
$endgroup$
– user1936752
Dec 23 '18 at 20:22






$begingroup$
I would use the term transparent instead of invisible in the question
$endgroup$
– user1936752
Dec 23 '18 at 20:22






1




1




$begingroup$
Ironically we can see the water in your picture. Perhaps it has to do with light.
$endgroup$
– KingDuken
Dec 24 '18 at 21:48




$begingroup$
Ironically we can see the water in your picture. Perhaps it has to do with light.
$endgroup$
– KingDuken
Dec 24 '18 at 21:48




3




3




$begingroup$
Note that it is the same reason as why we can see water drops in air.
$endgroup$
– Jan Hudec
Dec 24 '18 at 22:16




$begingroup$
Note that it is the same reason as why we can see water drops in air.
$endgroup$
– Jan Hudec
Dec 24 '18 at 22:16










4 Answers
4






active

oldest

votes


















31












$begingroup$

Air and water are both transparent to a good enough approximation. However, light travels more slowly in water: the speed of light in air is about 33% faster than in water. As a result, when light passes from one medium to the other, it is partly reflected and partly refracted (bent). For the refracted part, the general rule for determining the bending angle is called Snell's law, which can be expressed like this:
$$
frac{sintheta_text{w}}{sintheta_text{a}}=frac{v_text{w}}{v_text{a}}
approx frac{1}{1.33}
tag{1}
$$

where $v_text{w}$ and $v_text{a}$ are the speed of light in water and air, respectively, and where $theta_text{w}$ and $theta_text{a}$ are the angles of the light ray relative to a line perpendicular to the surface, on the water side and on the air side, respectively.



If the angle on the water side is $theta_text{w} gtrsim 49^circ$, then equation (1) does not have any solution: there is no air-side angle $theta_text{a}$ that satisfies the equation. In this case, as niels nielsen indicated, light propagating inside the water will be completely reflected at the water-air interface. So the rim of the bubble acts like a mirror: if you do a reverse ray-trace from your eye back to near the rim of an air bubble in the water, the angle between the ray and the line perpendicular to the surface of the bubble will be greater than $49^circ$ (this defines what "near the rim" means), so that part of the bubble acts like a mirror for light coming from those angles, as illustrated here:
enter image description here






share|cite|improve this answer











$endgroup$





















    12












    $begingroup$

    You can see light reflected off of the surface of a submerged bubble because the index of refraction of the air inside the bubble is different from that of the water that surrounds the bubble.



    That difference, if great enough, will turn a bubble surface into a mirror for light rays that approach it from certain directions, thereby making it easy to see.



    This condition is easily met for the combination of air and water.



    A google search on "refraction" and "total internal reflection" will furnish more examples of this, and explain the math behind it.






    share|cite|improve this answer









    $endgroup$









    • 1




      $begingroup$
      You said - "...light propagating inside the water will be completely reflected at the water-air interface" Does this mean that it is completely dark inside an air bubble underwater?
      $endgroup$
      – MarkTO
      Dec 24 '18 at 17:18










    • $begingroup$
      No, it means that the bubble will behave like a bent mirror- which is exactly what the bubbles in the picture above look like.
      $endgroup$
      – niels nielsen
      Dec 24 '18 at 20:19



















    1












    $begingroup$

    The inside of the bubble is not dark because only the light making a more glancing intersection than 49 degrees is completely reflected. Light that hits near the center of the bubble with respect to the direction it is traveling will be mostly transmitted into the bubble, illuminating the interior.






    share|cite|improve this answer











    $endgroup$





















      0












      $begingroup$

      For the exact same reason why you can see rain. Light waves hit it and the direction of propagation(travel) of the wave changes because it goes from one medium to another. Its movement causes the refraction to happen differently making it different from it's surroundings and visible to you.






      share|cite|improve this answer









      $endgroup$














        Your Answer





        StackExchange.ifUsing("editor", function () {
        return StackExchange.using("mathjaxEditing", function () {
        StackExchange.MarkdownEditor.creationCallbacks.add(function (editor, postfix) {
        StackExchange.mathjaxEditing.prepareWmdForMathJax(editor, postfix, [["$", "$"], ["\\(","\\)"]]);
        });
        });
        }, "mathjax-editing");

        StackExchange.ready(function() {
        var channelOptions = {
        tags: "".split(" "),
        id: "151"
        };
        initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

        StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
        // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
        if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
        StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
        createEditor();
        });
        }
        else {
        createEditor();
        }
        });

        function createEditor() {
        StackExchange.prepareEditor({
        heartbeatType: 'answer',
        autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
        convertImagesToLinks: false,
        noModals: true,
        showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
        reputationToPostImages: null,
        bindNavPrevention: true,
        postfix: "",
        imageUploader: {
        brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
        contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
        allowUrls: true
        },
        noCode: true, onDemand: true,
        discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
        ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
        });


        }
        });














        draft saved

        draft discarded


















        StackExchange.ready(
        function () {
        StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fphysics.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f450054%2fwhy-are-we-able-to-see-air-bubbles-under-water%23new-answer', 'question_page');
        }
        );

        Post as a guest















        Required, but never shown

























        4 Answers
        4






        active

        oldest

        votes








        4 Answers
        4






        active

        oldest

        votes









        active

        oldest

        votes






        active

        oldest

        votes









        31












        $begingroup$

        Air and water are both transparent to a good enough approximation. However, light travels more slowly in water: the speed of light in air is about 33% faster than in water. As a result, when light passes from one medium to the other, it is partly reflected and partly refracted (bent). For the refracted part, the general rule for determining the bending angle is called Snell's law, which can be expressed like this:
        $$
        frac{sintheta_text{w}}{sintheta_text{a}}=frac{v_text{w}}{v_text{a}}
        approx frac{1}{1.33}
        tag{1}
        $$

        where $v_text{w}$ and $v_text{a}$ are the speed of light in water and air, respectively, and where $theta_text{w}$ and $theta_text{a}$ are the angles of the light ray relative to a line perpendicular to the surface, on the water side and on the air side, respectively.



        If the angle on the water side is $theta_text{w} gtrsim 49^circ$, then equation (1) does not have any solution: there is no air-side angle $theta_text{a}$ that satisfies the equation. In this case, as niels nielsen indicated, light propagating inside the water will be completely reflected at the water-air interface. So the rim of the bubble acts like a mirror: if you do a reverse ray-trace from your eye back to near the rim of an air bubble in the water, the angle between the ray and the line perpendicular to the surface of the bubble will be greater than $49^circ$ (this defines what "near the rim" means), so that part of the bubble acts like a mirror for light coming from those angles, as illustrated here:
        enter image description here






        share|cite|improve this answer











        $endgroup$


















          31












          $begingroup$

          Air and water are both transparent to a good enough approximation. However, light travels more slowly in water: the speed of light in air is about 33% faster than in water. As a result, when light passes from one medium to the other, it is partly reflected and partly refracted (bent). For the refracted part, the general rule for determining the bending angle is called Snell's law, which can be expressed like this:
          $$
          frac{sintheta_text{w}}{sintheta_text{a}}=frac{v_text{w}}{v_text{a}}
          approx frac{1}{1.33}
          tag{1}
          $$

          where $v_text{w}$ and $v_text{a}$ are the speed of light in water and air, respectively, and where $theta_text{w}$ and $theta_text{a}$ are the angles of the light ray relative to a line perpendicular to the surface, on the water side and on the air side, respectively.



          If the angle on the water side is $theta_text{w} gtrsim 49^circ$, then equation (1) does not have any solution: there is no air-side angle $theta_text{a}$ that satisfies the equation. In this case, as niels nielsen indicated, light propagating inside the water will be completely reflected at the water-air interface. So the rim of the bubble acts like a mirror: if you do a reverse ray-trace from your eye back to near the rim of an air bubble in the water, the angle between the ray and the line perpendicular to the surface of the bubble will be greater than $49^circ$ (this defines what "near the rim" means), so that part of the bubble acts like a mirror for light coming from those angles, as illustrated here:
          enter image description here






          share|cite|improve this answer











          $endgroup$
















            31












            31








            31





            $begingroup$

            Air and water are both transparent to a good enough approximation. However, light travels more slowly in water: the speed of light in air is about 33% faster than in water. As a result, when light passes from one medium to the other, it is partly reflected and partly refracted (bent). For the refracted part, the general rule for determining the bending angle is called Snell's law, which can be expressed like this:
            $$
            frac{sintheta_text{w}}{sintheta_text{a}}=frac{v_text{w}}{v_text{a}}
            approx frac{1}{1.33}
            tag{1}
            $$

            where $v_text{w}$ and $v_text{a}$ are the speed of light in water and air, respectively, and where $theta_text{w}$ and $theta_text{a}$ are the angles of the light ray relative to a line perpendicular to the surface, on the water side and on the air side, respectively.



            If the angle on the water side is $theta_text{w} gtrsim 49^circ$, then equation (1) does not have any solution: there is no air-side angle $theta_text{a}$ that satisfies the equation. In this case, as niels nielsen indicated, light propagating inside the water will be completely reflected at the water-air interface. So the rim of the bubble acts like a mirror: if you do a reverse ray-trace from your eye back to near the rim of an air bubble in the water, the angle between the ray and the line perpendicular to the surface of the bubble will be greater than $49^circ$ (this defines what "near the rim" means), so that part of the bubble acts like a mirror for light coming from those angles, as illustrated here:
            enter image description here






            share|cite|improve this answer











            $endgroup$



            Air and water are both transparent to a good enough approximation. However, light travels more slowly in water: the speed of light in air is about 33% faster than in water. As a result, when light passes from one medium to the other, it is partly reflected and partly refracted (bent). For the refracted part, the general rule for determining the bending angle is called Snell's law, which can be expressed like this:
            $$
            frac{sintheta_text{w}}{sintheta_text{a}}=frac{v_text{w}}{v_text{a}}
            approx frac{1}{1.33}
            tag{1}
            $$

            where $v_text{w}$ and $v_text{a}$ are the speed of light in water and air, respectively, and where $theta_text{w}$ and $theta_text{a}$ are the angles of the light ray relative to a line perpendicular to the surface, on the water side and on the air side, respectively.



            If the angle on the water side is $theta_text{w} gtrsim 49^circ$, then equation (1) does not have any solution: there is no air-side angle $theta_text{a}$ that satisfies the equation. In this case, as niels nielsen indicated, light propagating inside the water will be completely reflected at the water-air interface. So the rim of the bubble acts like a mirror: if you do a reverse ray-trace from your eye back to near the rim of an air bubble in the water, the angle between the ray and the line perpendicular to the surface of the bubble will be greater than $49^circ$ (this defines what "near the rim" means), so that part of the bubble acts like a mirror for light coming from those angles, as illustrated here:
            enter image description here







            share|cite|improve this answer














            share|cite|improve this answer



            share|cite|improve this answer








            edited Dec 23 '18 at 22:34

























            answered Dec 23 '18 at 21:50









            Chiral AnomalyChiral Anomaly

            13.1k21744




            13.1k21744























                12












                $begingroup$

                You can see light reflected off of the surface of a submerged bubble because the index of refraction of the air inside the bubble is different from that of the water that surrounds the bubble.



                That difference, if great enough, will turn a bubble surface into a mirror for light rays that approach it from certain directions, thereby making it easy to see.



                This condition is easily met for the combination of air and water.



                A google search on "refraction" and "total internal reflection" will furnish more examples of this, and explain the math behind it.






                share|cite|improve this answer









                $endgroup$









                • 1




                  $begingroup$
                  You said - "...light propagating inside the water will be completely reflected at the water-air interface" Does this mean that it is completely dark inside an air bubble underwater?
                  $endgroup$
                  – MarkTO
                  Dec 24 '18 at 17:18










                • $begingroup$
                  No, it means that the bubble will behave like a bent mirror- which is exactly what the bubbles in the picture above look like.
                  $endgroup$
                  – niels nielsen
                  Dec 24 '18 at 20:19
















                12












                $begingroup$

                You can see light reflected off of the surface of a submerged bubble because the index of refraction of the air inside the bubble is different from that of the water that surrounds the bubble.



                That difference, if great enough, will turn a bubble surface into a mirror for light rays that approach it from certain directions, thereby making it easy to see.



                This condition is easily met for the combination of air and water.



                A google search on "refraction" and "total internal reflection" will furnish more examples of this, and explain the math behind it.






                share|cite|improve this answer









                $endgroup$









                • 1




                  $begingroup$
                  You said - "...light propagating inside the water will be completely reflected at the water-air interface" Does this mean that it is completely dark inside an air bubble underwater?
                  $endgroup$
                  – MarkTO
                  Dec 24 '18 at 17:18










                • $begingroup$
                  No, it means that the bubble will behave like a bent mirror- which is exactly what the bubbles in the picture above look like.
                  $endgroup$
                  – niels nielsen
                  Dec 24 '18 at 20:19














                12












                12








                12





                $begingroup$

                You can see light reflected off of the surface of a submerged bubble because the index of refraction of the air inside the bubble is different from that of the water that surrounds the bubble.



                That difference, if great enough, will turn a bubble surface into a mirror for light rays that approach it from certain directions, thereby making it easy to see.



                This condition is easily met for the combination of air and water.



                A google search on "refraction" and "total internal reflection" will furnish more examples of this, and explain the math behind it.






                share|cite|improve this answer









                $endgroup$



                You can see light reflected off of the surface of a submerged bubble because the index of refraction of the air inside the bubble is different from that of the water that surrounds the bubble.



                That difference, if great enough, will turn a bubble surface into a mirror for light rays that approach it from certain directions, thereby making it easy to see.



                This condition is easily met for the combination of air and water.



                A google search on "refraction" and "total internal reflection" will furnish more examples of this, and explain the math behind it.







                share|cite|improve this answer












                share|cite|improve this answer



                share|cite|improve this answer










                answered Dec 23 '18 at 20:21









                niels nielsenniels nielsen

                21.1k53062




                21.1k53062








                • 1




                  $begingroup$
                  You said - "...light propagating inside the water will be completely reflected at the water-air interface" Does this mean that it is completely dark inside an air bubble underwater?
                  $endgroup$
                  – MarkTO
                  Dec 24 '18 at 17:18










                • $begingroup$
                  No, it means that the bubble will behave like a bent mirror- which is exactly what the bubbles in the picture above look like.
                  $endgroup$
                  – niels nielsen
                  Dec 24 '18 at 20:19














                • 1




                  $begingroup$
                  You said - "...light propagating inside the water will be completely reflected at the water-air interface" Does this mean that it is completely dark inside an air bubble underwater?
                  $endgroup$
                  – MarkTO
                  Dec 24 '18 at 17:18










                • $begingroup$
                  No, it means that the bubble will behave like a bent mirror- which is exactly what the bubbles in the picture above look like.
                  $endgroup$
                  – niels nielsen
                  Dec 24 '18 at 20:19








                1




                1




                $begingroup$
                You said - "...light propagating inside the water will be completely reflected at the water-air interface" Does this mean that it is completely dark inside an air bubble underwater?
                $endgroup$
                – MarkTO
                Dec 24 '18 at 17:18




                $begingroup$
                You said - "...light propagating inside the water will be completely reflected at the water-air interface" Does this mean that it is completely dark inside an air bubble underwater?
                $endgroup$
                – MarkTO
                Dec 24 '18 at 17:18












                $begingroup$
                No, it means that the bubble will behave like a bent mirror- which is exactly what the bubbles in the picture above look like.
                $endgroup$
                – niels nielsen
                Dec 24 '18 at 20:19




                $begingroup$
                No, it means that the bubble will behave like a bent mirror- which is exactly what the bubbles in the picture above look like.
                $endgroup$
                – niels nielsen
                Dec 24 '18 at 20:19











                1












                $begingroup$

                The inside of the bubble is not dark because only the light making a more glancing intersection than 49 degrees is completely reflected. Light that hits near the center of the bubble with respect to the direction it is traveling will be mostly transmitted into the bubble, illuminating the interior.






                share|cite|improve this answer











                $endgroup$


















                  1












                  $begingroup$

                  The inside of the bubble is not dark because only the light making a more glancing intersection than 49 degrees is completely reflected. Light that hits near the center of the bubble with respect to the direction it is traveling will be mostly transmitted into the bubble, illuminating the interior.






                  share|cite|improve this answer











                  $endgroup$
















                    1












                    1








                    1





                    $begingroup$

                    The inside of the bubble is not dark because only the light making a more glancing intersection than 49 degrees is completely reflected. Light that hits near the center of the bubble with respect to the direction it is traveling will be mostly transmitted into the bubble, illuminating the interior.






                    share|cite|improve this answer











                    $endgroup$



                    The inside of the bubble is not dark because only the light making a more glancing intersection than 49 degrees is completely reflected. Light that hits near the center of the bubble with respect to the direction it is traveling will be mostly transmitted into the bubble, illuminating the interior.







                    share|cite|improve this answer














                    share|cite|improve this answer



                    share|cite|improve this answer








                    edited Dec 25 '18 at 1:25

























                    answered Dec 25 '18 at 0:08









                    Gus MichelGus Michel

                    563




                    563























                        0












                        $begingroup$

                        For the exact same reason why you can see rain. Light waves hit it and the direction of propagation(travel) of the wave changes because it goes from one medium to another. Its movement causes the refraction to happen differently making it different from it's surroundings and visible to you.






                        share|cite|improve this answer









                        $endgroup$


















                          0












                          $begingroup$

                          For the exact same reason why you can see rain. Light waves hit it and the direction of propagation(travel) of the wave changes because it goes from one medium to another. Its movement causes the refraction to happen differently making it different from it's surroundings and visible to you.






                          share|cite|improve this answer









                          $endgroup$
















                            0












                            0








                            0





                            $begingroup$

                            For the exact same reason why you can see rain. Light waves hit it and the direction of propagation(travel) of the wave changes because it goes from one medium to another. Its movement causes the refraction to happen differently making it different from it's surroundings and visible to you.






                            share|cite|improve this answer









                            $endgroup$



                            For the exact same reason why you can see rain. Light waves hit it and the direction of propagation(travel) of the wave changes because it goes from one medium to another. Its movement causes the refraction to happen differently making it different from it's surroundings and visible to you.







                            share|cite|improve this answer












                            share|cite|improve this answer



                            share|cite|improve this answer










                            answered Dec 25 '18 at 1:16









                            Es CarterEs Carter

                            1




                            1






























                                draft saved

                                draft discarded




















































                                Thanks for contributing an answer to Physics Stack Exchange!


                                • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

                                But avoid



                                • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

                                • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


                                Use MathJax to format equations. MathJax reference.


                                To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




                                draft saved


                                draft discarded














                                StackExchange.ready(
                                function () {
                                StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fphysics.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f450054%2fwhy-are-we-able-to-see-air-bubbles-under-water%23new-answer', 'question_page');
                                }
                                );

                                Post as a guest















                                Required, but never shown





















































                                Required, but never shown














                                Required, but never shown












                                Required, but never shown







                                Required, but never shown

































                                Required, but never shown














                                Required, but never shown












                                Required, but never shown







                                Required, but never shown







                                Popular posts from this blog

                                Bundesstraße 106

                                Verónica Boquete

                                Ida-Boy-Ed-Garten