Reflection
This project has improved my outlook on science and knowledge of the scientific method. My video was very close to the criteria I had set out in the beginning. To make the video, I had to learn the physics of scattering through which I learnt of oscillating dipoles, different models for scattering and electromagnetism. Light is fascinating because it is a wave with no physical medium. It is incredible that light travels in just a mathematical model. This demonstrates what science is all about: making models to explain the world around us.
I found several obstacles while trying to find the reason behind our blue sky. An example of this is that I found two explanations for why lower wavelength light scattered more. One was that electrons resonated at those wavelengths. Another was that the Rayleigh scattering equation depended on wavelength. I spent a lot of time thinking about why the wavelength of light would matter. I explored both explanations and, in the end, after finding the derivation for the equation, I realized that the equation was true because of resonance. The effort needed to find this information showed that there isn’t clear information on this topic. I found this information in highly technical university websites (such as https://homework.uoregon.edu/pub/class/atm/scatter.html and https://farside.ph.utexas.edu/teaching/em/lectures/node97.html). These presentations included highly technical language, and so I had to learn that too.
This project also enhanced my understanding of my chosen Global Context – Scientific and Technical Innovation. As shown using the example earlier, it is hard to find clear information on the reasoning behind something. Using this project, I took an initiative towards fixing this problem by explaining a concept completely, without having any requirements at all. While videos also explaining why the sky is blue may be more aesthetically pleasing, none of them have a complete explanation. Science communication is very important in today’s world, especially because of the increase in fake news, the decrease of trust in science and global issues such as climate change left unaddressed. I hope that this project will inspire curiosity and bring a smile to the troubled world.
I found several obstacles while trying to find the reason behind our blue sky. An example of this is that I found two explanations for why lower wavelength light scattered more. One was that electrons resonated at those wavelengths. Another was that the Rayleigh scattering equation depended on wavelength. I spent a lot of time thinking about why the wavelength of light would matter. I explored both explanations and, in the end, after finding the derivation for the equation, I realized that the equation was true because of resonance. The effort needed to find this information showed that there isn’t clear information on this topic. I found this information in highly technical university websites (such as https://homework.uoregon.edu/pub/class/atm/scatter.html and https://farside.ph.utexas.edu/teaching/em/lectures/node97.html). These presentations included highly technical language, and so I had to learn that too.
This project also enhanced my understanding of my chosen Global Context – Scientific and Technical Innovation. As shown using the example earlier, it is hard to find clear information on the reasoning behind something. Using this project, I took an initiative towards fixing this problem by explaining a concept completely, without having any requirements at all. While videos also explaining why the sky is blue may be more aesthetically pleasing, none of them have a complete explanation. Science communication is very important in today’s world, especially because of the increase in fake news, the decrease of trust in science and global issues such as climate change left unaddressed. I hope that this project will inspire curiosity and bring a smile to the troubled world.