— Why does heat distort what I see?
In: Physics
It’s called refraction and is actually the same effect as when you look at a straw through a glass of water and it appears bent. As the light passes through a denser medium (water), it changes speed and direction.
In the case of the “waves” you see coming off a hot object, the hot air close to the object is less dense than the air directly above it and therefore light is refracted as it slows down in the cooler air. The heat is also being transfered from the hot air to the cold while you’re looking at it so it’s not constant or stable like air/water refraction, but it is the exact same effect.
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