WHY THE SEA LOOKS BLUE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 3681, 16 November 1912, Page 10

WHY THE SEA LOOKS BLUE.

The color of the sea is cun d by the reflection of the sky upon its surface, and this fact is well know n to some but not to others, including some who have written scientific books on the subject. It is tru * that one often gets the impression that the sea is of a more brilliant blue at times than the color of the sky. That- is bocause we instinctively look at the sky in the direction of the horizon. Atthat point the sky is often of a less brilliant hue than the sky immediately overhead, which of course is what- is reflected in the water. But. though the color of the water is a mere reflection, water really is blue, though the color is so slight- that it is only by most careful and accurate experiments that the fact can be ascertained. That fact was demonstrated first by Sir Humphrey Davy, then by Bunsen, and more recently by a Belgian chemist. M. Spring. Lord Rayleigh has demonstrated it- by means of experiments with water from the sea at Suez, from the Bhie Grotto of Capri, from the Seven Stones Lightship of the Cornish coast, and from inland springs in England.