After breaking for a short while, our lesson resumed.
"Today, I'll be teaching you a bit about Camouflage and Contrast" my Dad said.
We paid close attention.
"As you may already know, Camouflage is the ability of a body to conceal itself from an Observer. With regards to the Element Of Light, there are three major ways this can be achieved. The first is via the phenomenon of Transparency" my Dad explained.
"I see, the ability of a body to allow Light to pass through it" I noted.
"Exactly, the phenomenon of Transparency is by far one of the most potent ways for a body to conceal itself. A body that conceals itself via Transparency masks not only its presence but its Shadow as well. It may very well be non-existent to an Observer" my Dad explained.
"The second means by which Camouflage can be achieved is by Bending Waves" my Dad said.
"That's the ability of a body to alter the path of a Wave heading towards it and thus prevent the Wave emitted by the Energy Source from making contact with the body right?" Keiran noted.
My Dad smiled.
"I see you've been following the lesson keenly. Exactly, the ability of an observer to perceive a body is tied to their ability to perceive the moment a particular Wave makes contact with the body. When the body is able to bend the Waves that flow towards it away from itself or bend the Waves flowing from itself away from the Senses of an Observer, it can conceal itself. In this case, the body is concealed but not completely removed from the environment of the observer. Its physical presence remains within the environment of the observer however the observer is only able to perceive the obstacle that bends the Waves away from either the body or from the senses of the Observer. The Observer can perceive the Obstacle between himself and the body but the body itself is hidden" my Dad explained.
"I see, so with Transparency, both the Body and its Shadow are completely masked creating the impression that the body is non-existent however with the Bending Of Waves, the Body is still physically present however the Observer can only perceive the Obstacle that bends the Waves flowing either towards the body or towards his or her eyes" Arlene realized.
"It appears you understand" my Dad said.
We listened closely.
"Then there is the third method of Camouflage. Ironically, this method is achieved via the phenomenon of Reflection instead of Transparency. It's called 'Contrast'" my Dad said.
"Contrast?" we wondered.
"Bodies are visible because of the Light that is reflected off them. I've explained this already. The distinct features of a body are determined by the specific spectra of Light that reflect off the body leaving the mass of the body which is another determinant aside. The greater the contrast in the spectra of Light reflected off multiple bodies, where contrast refers to the differences in the Spectra Of Light, the lesser the bodies resemble one another. The lesser the bodies resemble one another, the more pronounced their distinct features are and the more pronounced their distinct features are, the more visible they are. In other words, with the reverse where contrast is low and the Light reflected off a body matches that of its surroundings almost precisely, the greater the invisibility of the body. Here, the body's physical presence isn't completely removed from its environment and it doesn't necessarily place any obstacles between itself and an observer. All it does is to reflect precisely the same Wavelengths Of Light that are reflected by its environment and any Observer present in the environment loses the capacity to observe the body" my Dad explained.
"Talk about blending in" I said with an impressed look in my eyes.
Everyone else laughed.