jefff@cadovax.UUCP (Jeffery H. Fields) (07/08/85)
>> The twinkling effect on light from stars and not from planets is because the >> stars are so distant that they are a point-source of light. That is, due to >> the stars great distance from us, the straight narrow beams of light emitted >> outwardly in all directions from their surfaces are so sparse by the time >> they reach us that our eyes receive a beam of light one photon wide. >I have a question about this. If the beams are so sparse by the time they >reach us how are we able to see the star at all. I guess what I'm saying >is that even if we build a telescope the size of the Earth, there will still >be stars that we cannot see because the photon ouptut in our direction is >not dense enough by the time it reaches us. Is this correct? >Dave Claus >AT&T/Indy Nope. Otherwise Galileo would have failed miserably. It is not correct to assume that the twinkling of stars is caused by density fluctuations in the photonic input. Remember light is a wave too. It is this wave nature of light that accounts for the refraction of light. And it is the varying index of refraction caused by the varying densities of air between the observer and an angularly small object like a distant star that causes the object to twinkle. -- Jeff Fields {ucbvax,ihnp4,decvax}!trwrb!cadovax!jefff Pax vobiscum.