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Re: moonlight



I would guess that it is because that the surface ripples are NOT
"randomly directed". The dominant waves are headed toward the shore on
which you stand.

Bob Sciamanda (W3NLV)
Physics, Edinboro Univ of PA (em)
trebor@velocity.net
http://www.velocity.net/~trebor
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kilmer, Skip" <kilmers@GREENHILL.ORG>
To: <PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2003 10:10 AM
Subject: moonlight


| When one sees moonlight reflected from the surface of a lake, if the =
| water is at all disturbed, the disk is stretched into a line. I've al=
| ways thought of this as diffuse reflection from the rippled surface, =
| and as I think about it, I can't satisfy myself why the light should =
| be concentrated "beneath" the moon. Why don't the randomly directed s=
| urface ripples make it just as likely that light hitting off to the s=
| ide would reflect into our eyes?
| skip


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