Why the sky is blue: discovering the color of life

Abstract

Delightful and intriguing, 'Why the Sky is Blue' shows how the attempt to answer this age-old and deceptively simple question only enhances the magic of the blue sky we see above us.

Contents

Of philosophers and the color blue -- A blue mixture: light and darkness -- Aerial perspective -- A color of the first order -- Basic phenomenon, or optical illusion? -- A polarized sky -- Lord Rayleigh's scattering -- Molecular reality -- Ozone's blue hour -- The color of life.