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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 30, 1985)
Ask “Mr. Mike” Sunsets can be ‘altering’ experiences Dear Mr. Mike: While sunning my bod in Shasta last weekend, it dawned on me that at noon the sun is always white and the sky is always blue, except when It rains. As my akin took on a nice shade of lobster on the boat's upper deck, I also noticed that the sky changed colors as the sun turned yellow, orange and finally red when the sun set in the eastern sky. Knowing of your superior intellect, I thought I’d ask you these two questions: If space is black, why is the sky blue and what makes the sun change colors as it sets? Brant De La Paz journalism You’re very observant, Brent, except for that the sun sets in the west. vShasta, huh? Been into altering your chromosomes for long? For the purposes of explaining this phenomenon to a ('.reek like you, accept the idoa that light is like sound in reference to the way that frequency is scat tered If a beam of a particular frequency sound is directed to a tuning fork of similar frequency, the fork will be set into vibration and redirect the beam in multiple directions. The closer the frequency of the • incident wave to that of the scattering medium, the stronger the vibrations and resultant scattering. It's a lot like the effect of running out of beer when sorority women are functioning with your house. Scatter City. Atoms, molecules, and minute particles that com pose the atmosphere behave like tiny optica) tuning forks and selectively scatter light waves of appropriate frequencies. The more minute the particle, the higher its natural frequency and the higher the frequency of light it will scatter. The nitrogen and oxygen molecules that predominate in the atmosphere are very tiny resonators with natural frequencies in the ultraviolet part of the electromagnetic spectrum. When sunlight enters the earth’s atmosphere, violet and blue light are scattered the most, followed by green, yellow, orange, and red. The part of the sunlight scattered by the at mosphere is predominantly high frequency. Scattered violet photons outnumber blue, but Our eyes are not very sensitive to violet light. This is why we see the sky as blue. Lower, less evolved life forms like dorm bound freshmen see a purple haze. . Hang on to your gray matter, Brent, now I'll ex plain your second question. Lower frequencies are scattered the least by nitrogen and oxygen since their oscillation is wide and a corresponding atom. molecule or particle would have to be huge, relatively speaking, to scatter these colors. Thus red, orange, and yellow light are transmitted more readily than blue. Red traverses the atmosphere less hindered than any other color. When the sun is directly overhead, most colors of the spectrum are present and the light is white since atmospheric filtering is minimal. Go stare at the sun for a while, Brent, and you'll see that this is true. Be sure to wear at least 30 pairs of 'nays which you should be able to find in your house else you’ll bum out your beady little retinas. As the sun sets, the light has more atmosphere to pass through in relation to the observer who is on the edge of the globe perpendicular to the sun's rays. The higher frequencies are scattered while the lower fre quencies are transmitted. The sun becomes pro gressively redder, going from a yellow to an orange, and finally to a deep red-orange at sunset. Mr. Mike says: Hey kids, there's only two weeks left to stump Mr. Mike with mind boggling questions of science. Send your questions to the Emerald care of Mr. Mike. ‘And remember, I don't have a degree in anything yet. Theatre stages a coming-out party By Steve Lundgren Of ti» CwnM thscks and dandelions and thistles and frogs have had their turn at the Frederick A. Cuthbert Memorial Am phitheatre in Alton Baker Park. Now another type of wildlife will take the stage. The Crazy B’s, Obo Addy with Kukrudu and Billy Ran cher's Flesh and Blood are go ing to crank up and scare life out of the swamp beginning at 2 p in. this Saturday. The con cert, dubbed “Dancin' in the Park," is sponsored by the Eugene Parks and Recreation Department. The show is planned as a “coming-out" party to in troduce the new amphitheatre to the public and provide a fling for University students before finals, said Rob McIntosh, cultural events coordinator for the department. He added that his department's main goal this summer is to make people aware of the amphitheatre. "This facility is a real jewel," he said. The amphitheatre forms an arc at the edge of a canal near Autzen Stadium with the stage backed bv water and the lush green foliage of the opposite bank. It has seating for 3500 with room for an extra 1500 on the grassy burin that surrounds it. ; . Though completed about-' three years ago, - th’e..am phitheatre has bdenused 6nly' three times.- McIntosh'said-up until now the copnty lacked the money to use the' facility’ because of the recession. • The facility , was constructed as a joint project of Lane County Parks with donations"of labor, and money from' several local service organizations!. and', businesses. Frederick Cuthbert, former University architecture dean, originally envisioried the. amphitheatre and served on the Alton Baker Park advisory committee. The Crazy 8's will lead the show. The eight member Portland-based band,/ which'" plays a mixture of rack, reggae and jazz, has visited Eugene many times in the .last year and usually plays to a packed house. Billy Rancher, formerly with the Unreal Gods,' is. eager to show Eugene his new band'cali1- j ed Flesh and Blood. McIntosh said. The show- finishes with Obo Addy, a native of Ghana,' with Kuknidu! - Tickets for the concert are $5 in advance and $6 the day of the show and are available at Halt Center outlets and the EMU,. There will be a beer garden, but the show is also open to those under 21. • • KINKO'S 860 E. 13th 344 7894 Store Hours U f 9 0Of> 00 SAT 10 005 00 890 E. 13th • 342-FILM All Pentax cameras include Pentax USA 1 year warran ty/registration card. $109" MB Automatic Wm Speed Setting (OX) ' Automatic FHm Loading Automatic advance to hist picture (at 1/1000 second) Automatic Exposure Modes 1 Programmed Automatic 2 Aperture Priority Automatic Automatic FHm Winding Automatic Sett Timer BacK Light Compensation $199" NEW! Sports Motor 35 Autofocus NEW! 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