Why does a hot surface appear to shimmer? Fran Guest. Fran asked the Naked Scientists: Sometimes on a hot summer day you can see "heat" radiating from really hot surfaces it sort of shimmers.
Since you can't see air move, what exactly are we seeing? The surface is hotter than the air. Even a very short distance above the surface the air is cooler. Hotter air rising into it causes heat transference and resultant turbulence and this can also add to the effect. I dare say 1 of our physics whizzos can explain the mechanism of heat transference better than me so I shall leave it to them. Undo Best Answer.
Hi Fran this is the "mirage" effect and it's caused by light altering its speed as it passes through patches of more and less dense air.
Contrary to what most people think, the speed of light is not fixed and will change according to the substance through which it passes. The ground absorbs sunlight and warms the air above it. The warmed air rises and circulates, so close to the ground there tend to be mixed currents of warm and cold air. Looking through this shifting pattern is like peering through an ever-changing lens, producing a shimmer near the ground on a sunny day.
A similar effect makes stars twinkle. When it is really hot the distortion increases and the heat haze swallows up distant objects completely. Sometimes there is a distinct layer of warm air close to the ground, with cooler air above. Search titles only. Search Advanced search…. Members Current visitors. Interface Language.
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