Why doesn't sunlight behave like light thru a prism as it hits the earth's atmosphere?

Because the sun is IN our atmosphere. Now you're asking the right question.

It does

It actually does OP.

The sky is Purple in the morning blue during the day then orange then red then set.

I haven't noticed the sunlight changing color during the day.

earth's atmosphere isn't a prism?

As I look around at the surroundings during the day, I do not see the colors changing.

Also, has there been a bending of light and even satellite radio waves as they enter/exit the atmosphere/space. Like when you look at a pencil in a glass of water and it's displaced visually.

You must be one sheltered child in and adult body!

I see the sunrise every morning headed east into work at daybreak.

Nice orange horizon gives way to clear blue skies on most days.

Followed by the Burnt orange sunsets in the evening headed home headed west!

Try to get up and actually see the sunrise kid, stop playing call of duty at sunset and go see the color change yourself!

At noon with the sun 90 degrees to the atmosphere's outer surface, there should be no blue, only white light.

One word: Rainbows. Case closed.

I only see rainbows when there is rain. Does it have to be raining when sunlight goes thru a small glass prism and separates into all the different colors?

Negative. You only need water molecules in the air. Which the air is always full of. The difference is pressure. More pressure = more condensation.

So if the "air is always full of" water molecules and it is a high atmospheric pressure day then there will be a visible rainbow all day if the sun is out and at a correct angle?

If the air is saturated enough, yes. But not "all day". Photons travel indiscriminately but what determines whether or not you'll see a rainbow is a combination of pressure/angle/light source origin, distance, etc.

You just answered the question of why the sky is blue and not black like it is at night.

The suns light is refracted by the atmosphere causing the sky to appear blue, duh.
Just like how a prism refracts light into the full spectrum the atmosphere refracts light and you are seeing the blue part of the light beams from the sun.

you mean like what happens during every sunrise and sunset...why the sky is blue during the sunny daytime....and after rain rainbows????

maybe you should have paid more attention during science class.,

Last Edited by psyoptics on 10/23/2019 07:18 PM

Look at the sunset. Purple in the east, read in the west...

basically..because the earth is round....the effects are not seen like a rainbow...but the sky will be blue at daytimes....and goes through the spectrum going into total darkness at night.....just like if you spin a prism......
yes even green...there is a green burst right when the sun goes down....not seen everywhere...but it is there.
FE's see the failure daily and can not understand it.....then ask why we don't see this when it is happening as they ask.

Density.

Rainbows exist

Purple sunrise?

What planet are you from?

go watch one.....seen better at sunset........the colors are just not as clean as you seen from a tiny prism....but the effects and reason behind are the same.

It does depending on the angle and atmospheric conditions. Ever see a sunset? There you go, all that red is there because the atmospher is acting like a prism. You just cant see the ROYGBIV because the OYGIBV is below the horizon.

Another example is a RAINBOW...

Sky is blue is it not?

You can make a rainbow with a light source + water source any time, sun or no sun.

Here is what is happening.

It is originally from Einstein equations.. he sought to answer why the sky is blue. It does something called Rayleigh scattering.. or that's the math behind it.

But this is the best "theory" they have.. truth is no one really knows why the sky is blue or not a rainbow.

[link to hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu]

Because the Earths atmosphere is round and not flat with edges.

Our atmosphere amplifies the light of our Sun much like a magnifying glass. It focuses the most light and heat near the equator except during the slight wobble and seasonal changes.