Ok - let me see if i can get my point across - physics are not my greatest forte.
We all know that objects appear magnified by about one third as light is refracted passing from the denser medium of water - to air.
The "about" aspect in basic discussions has been explained by the fact that it plays a part how far the lense is from your eye - and how close or distant the observed object is.
But: The colder water is, and the higher its salinity the denser it should logically be. Increased water density affects the angle of refraction. I believe that is described as the refraction index for at certain liquid at a certain temperature.
Now my question is - Will changes in water density and consequently the refraction index as light passes through the mask lense affect the degree or scale of diver-perceived magnification of an observed object? If so one might imagine things to seem further magnified in very dense liquids than the normal factor of one third.
It was a trip to Egypt that started me thinking about all this. To me most of the regular reef fish somehow seemed bigger there than in most other places I'd been. Like they were all on steroids. Then I got this idea that the particularly high salinity of the red sea might play a part. I've scoured the web for information about this but found nothing directly applicable to diving.
What do you think? Any diving optometrists out there?
We all know that objects appear magnified by about one third as light is refracted passing from the denser medium of water - to air.
The "about" aspect in basic discussions has been explained by the fact that it plays a part how far the lense is from your eye - and how close or distant the observed object is.
But: The colder water is, and the higher its salinity the denser it should logically be. Increased water density affects the angle of refraction. I believe that is described as the refraction index for at certain liquid at a certain temperature.
Now my question is - Will changes in water density and consequently the refraction index as light passes through the mask lense affect the degree or scale of diver-perceived magnification of an observed object? If so one might imagine things to seem further magnified in very dense liquids than the normal factor of one third.
It was a trip to Egypt that started me thinking about all this. To me most of the regular reef fish somehow seemed bigger there than in most other places I'd been. Like they were all on steroids. Then I got this idea that the particularly high salinity of the red sea might play a part. I've scoured the web for information about this but found nothing directly applicable to diving.
What do you think? Any diving optometrists out there?