Three points have been brought up in the two preceding paragraphs that require a radically new way of thinking. Secondly, individual photons move at variable speeds, sometimes faster than C, the conventional speed of light. And thirdly, which is for me the most amazing idea, it seems really is possible for something to travel backwards in time. All phenomena concerning light can only have their fullest explanation from quantum physics. Iridescence, or colors of an object which seem to change when looked at from different directions, is explained by the surface of the object having different thicknesses, causing light to travel through it at different rates and, therefore having different probabilities of reflections for different frequencies.
White light is composed of a mixture of light at different frequencies.
Mirages occur because light travels more quickly through the hot air than cooler air and light that takes the quickest route will most likely reach our eyes making the sky seem to reflect off the hot desert or pavement. Water changes the speed which the light travels, as does various thicknesses of glass, and causes the light to seem to bend. A focusing lens causes the light that enters it to travel all at the same rate, but for different distances, thus eliminating cancellations and making the light seem extremely bright on the other side. Light does not travel in straight lines but in a very random and scattered sort of way. All of these phenomena are determined through probability.