Judged by their frequency and beauty, ice halos easily rival rainbows as a prominent atmospheric optics phenomenon. This article presents experimental halo demonstrations of varying complexity. Using a single commercially available hexagonal glass prism, a variety of artificial halos can be simulated. The experiments include laser beam path analysis, a modified classic spinning prism experiment, and a novel Monte-Carlo machine for three-dimensional rotations. Each of these experiments emulates different conditions of certain halo displays, and in combination, they allow a thorough understanding of these striking phenomena.
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2015
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