eli5 why do we see transparent objects if they let light pass through them
In: Physics
Most of the incoming light beams/photons pass directly through, right to your eyeballs.
But not all… depending upon the angle!
(When it comes to light and optics, it’s always “all about the angles”!)
A very small percentage of the photons will take more elaborate meandering indirect pathways that will make your brain essentially say:
“Wait up!? Hold on!? Something ain’t right here!”
So it those few tattle-tale photons that makes your brain realize there’s a structure or something between your eyes, and what you are seeing in the distance on average, is effectively perceived by looking through an interfering transparent plane.
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