What Causes the Distortion of Light During Heatwaves?

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AFG34
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In summer, sometimes you see heatwaves coming out of the hot concrete. I'm curious as to why light is bent or distorted and you can't really see clearly through these heat waves.
 
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Are you familiar with "refraction"?
 
hmm, i forgot about that from last year :D
 
the light is passing through air with different densities due to heat i.e. refraction