"Let me see it." Xiang Yang took the display screen from Xu Fang and clicked play.
On the screen, there were vast expanses of azure blue sea.
Suddenly, without any warning, a huge iceberg appeared in the video. This iceberg seemed to be born out of thin air, without any precursors, and after its birth, it did not cause any waves.
"Yes, it is indeed a mirage."
Xiang Yang handed the display to Xu Fang. "It should be because of the snow we had earlier. The refraction of light was deviated, so a huge iceberg that is who knows how far away is projected on this sea area."
At this time, more and more people gathered on the deck.
Many crew members' hearts beat faster as they watched themselves getting closer and closer to the iceberg.
Although Xiang Yang and Xu Fang had already made it clear that it was not a real iceberg but just a mirage, the visual impact was still extremely terrifying.
Xiang Yang himself was not afraid. He was one of the few people in the entire fleet who knew the principle of mirage formation.
A mirage is an illusion caused by the refraction of distant objects. It is caused by a temperature gradient formed when the sun raises the temperature of the ground.
Due to the different densities of the air, light will be refracted at the boundary of the temperature gradient.
The human brain believes that light always travels in a straight line, but when light passes through the lower temperature and denser atmosphere below, it is refracted downward, so distant objects appear in the brain higher than they actually are.
Mirages often occur at sea because the air humidity and thickness within a certain range at sea is relatively high. Such a large area of water vapor forms a huge lens system by accident under the movement.
When the temperature near the ground changes drastically, it will cause huge differences in the density of the atmosphere. Distant objects will experience abnormal refraction and total reflection when light propagates, thus causing mirages.
In addition, the occurrence of mirages is also related to the refractive index of air layers at different altitudes, and water vapor content is an important meteorological factor that directly affects the refractive index.
At the same time, mirages are also related to sudden changes in temperature and relative humidity.
The air near the sea surface has a larger refractive index because the sea water temperature is lower and the water vapor is humid, while the air above has a higher temperature due to the influence of sunlight.
The refractive index of the air layer above the sea surface decreases gradually with altitude from bottom to top. Due to the discontinuity of changes in meteorological elements, the refractive index of light in the air also changes discontinuously. When light passes through the top of the air layer with a large refractive index, under clear, windless or breezy weather conditions, it is easy to form total reflection, thus producing the spectacle of a mirage.
At this time, Xiang Yang discovered that the decks of other fishing boats around were also full of people.
"It seems that everyone has discovered this mirage." Xiang Yang said to the people around him with a smile.
"Brother Yang, you are still in the mood to laugh. What if this is not a mirage but a real iceberg? Then we are doomed." Fang Youqun said.
Xiang Yang smiled but said nothing. Whether it was true or not, the truth would become clear when the fishing boat passed by.
As a result, just when Xiang Yang thought he was going to have no contact with the mirage, the icebreaker in the front stopped.
Soon after, the second and third boats, and all the fishing boats in the entire fleet, stopped. Xiang Yang's fishing boat also had to stop on the sea.
"Hey, what is Boss Gao doing? Why did he stop?" Chen Qingsheng wondered.
Xiang Yang took out the walkie-talkie and said, "Let me ask."
"Mr. Gao, Mr. Gao." Xiang Yang called out.
There was a dead tone in the intercom. After a long while, Gao Chuang's voice came from inside, "Is that Xiang Yang?"
"It's me, Mr. Gao. Why did the fleet stop?" Xiang Yang asked.
"There is a mirage ahead. Let's wait until it passes before we continue to move forward," Gao Chuang said.
Xiang Yang shrugged his shoulders, looked at Chen Qingsheng and said, "Maybe Boss Gao feels that sailing in a mirage is difficult because the vision is blocked."
Chen Qingsheng smiled and nodded, "It's better to stop. In case the visibility in the iceberg is too low, maybe one of us will get lost."
Xiang Yang touched his stomach and said, "Just right, after taking a walk, I feel hungry again. Is there anything else to eat? I'll have another bite."
"No more. The seafood at noon tasted so good that we finished it all. There's nothing left. How about I go to the kitchen and cook some for you?" Chen Qingsheng said.
Xiang Yang quickly shook his head, "Forget it, I'll just cook it myself. I can't bear to trouble you, Master Chen."
When Chen Qingsheng heard that Xiang Yang wanted to do it himself, he quickly said, "Captain, let me do it. After all, the seafood on the ship is not cheap, so forget about your cooking skills."
Xiang Yang was not embarrassed and smiled, "Okay, I haven't eaten your dishes for a long time. Make me some Antarctic sturgeon soup and let's go to the cabin to have a couple of drinks."
Upon hearing this, Fang Youqun immediately leaned forward and said, "Brother Yang, I want to eat too."
Xiang Yang smiled and asked, "Why, you didn't have enough for lunch?"
Fang Youqun quickly nodded his head like a chick pecking at rice.
A crew member on the side immediately interrupted Fang Youqun and said, "Captain, don't listen to this Fang's nonsense. He was the one who ate the most at noon. He ate all my portion. I was the one who was not full."
Fang Youqun immediately became anxious when he heard this, "You don't want to eat it yourself, so why can't you let me eat it?"
Xiang Yang laughed immediately after hearing this, "You all want to eat more?"
The crew members immediately said in unison: "Yes."
Xiang Yang smiled and looked at Chen Qingsheng, "Then let's cook a few more Antarctic sturgeons, and get some green vegetables, radishes, and lotus roots, and we'll try the whole sturgeon hot pot soup."
Chen Qingsheng nodded and said with a smile: "Everything about eating seafood is good, but it is digested too quickly. I feel hungry again not long after I was full. Okay, I don't know when this mirage will be digested, so it's a good time to make a hot pot to try."
Most seafood is a high-protein product, and it is easy to feel full when eating it, but after eating it, you will feel hungry again soon, so this is a very normal phenomenon.
Soon, several large pots for cooking Antarctic sturgeon were set up on the ship. A dozen crew members gathered around a large pot and kept putting various vegetables, fish balls and fish meal into the pot.
Xiang Yang was stunned by this scene. "I just wanted to have a bowl of fish soup after dinner. You just had an appetizer. This is the main meal."
Fang Youqun had a fish ball in his mouth. Hearing this, he said vaguely, "If you want to drink fish soup, that's easy. Brother Yang, drink the soup and give me the fish you don't want."