Just a simple question about something I was wondering recently. Why is it that sunlight seems to diffuse more quickly than artificial light? To illustrate the question, imagine looking at your shadow when the sun is at a 45 degree angle in the sky. You'll notice that your shadow's head is pretty fuzzy, while your feet are sharp and distinct. Were an artificial light placed at the same degree, but obviously in much closer proximity, say 20 feet away, your shadow would retain far more definition. Why is this?
   It seems to me that since the sun is so far away, and so freakin huge compared to you, that the amount of "spreading" the light experiences between your head and your shadow should be very minimal. Since the artificial light is closer in proximity, and obviously much smaller than the sun, the light should undergo far greater spreading between your head and your shadow. This is obvious since your shadow gets considerably "bigger" the closer the artificial light is. Intuitively I would think the shadow generated by the artificial light would increase in "fuzziness" more quickly than that of the sun.
   Note that my mathematics are basic, so I suppose I should also ask, Is there a simple answer to the question? 

Last edited by Gungnir (2007-03-14 20:21:15)