This will probably suck, but I’ll try.
Sometimes when I’m out driving, I notice an interesting optical illusion in front of me on the asphalt. If there’s a slight, brief dip in the road, I see what looks like a mirrored surface. Once I drive closer, it disappears and I can see what’s actually there. I suppose the first question is “Does anyone know what I’m talking about,” and if anyone does - is there a name for this phenomenon? Has it been documented at all?
Yep. It is a mirage of sorts. What is actually happening is a layer of heated air above the road surface is reflecting the sky.
From here..
Yep, everyone has seen it, and it is just that, a mirage. That is the origin of the “lake in the desert” you will see so often in cartoons. Light reacts differently when passing through temperature changes, causing a bending from another location. Think of the “shimmer” you can see with pretty much any heat source; same thing, dramatic result.
Another keyword phrase to search on:
“Total Internal Reflection” +mirage
When light passes from an optically dense medium into a less dense medium, if the angle is shallow enough, it reflects 100%.
Not 99.9999%, but 100%. It’s how optical fibers work (no, they don’t put mirror coatings on the outside of the glass fibers.)