The Pencil That Only Looks Broken

Goal Make one small illustrated explanation of why a straight pencil partly immersed in water can appear bent at the surface. Deliverable One static self-contained SVG, at most 500,000 bytes, with exactly three connected explanatory panels. Requirements 1. In the first panel draw a straight pencil crossing a flat air-water surface, with its above-water and submerged portions visibly aligned in physical space. Label air and water. 2. In the second panel show an observer above the water and one schematic light ray travelling from a point on the submerged pencil through the surface to that observer. At the interface draw the normal and show the ray bending away from the normal as it enters air. 3. In the third panel distinguish the actual submerged point from its apparent position. Use a dashed backward extension of the emerging ray and place the apparent point on that extension, nearer the surface. Link the panels with consistent labels and explain that the pencil itself is not bent. 4. Include one original 50-80-word explanation of refraction and apparent displacement. Do not say water magnifies everything or that the exact apparent position is identical for every viewing angle. 5. Map the explanation and ray geometry to one or two publicly readable university, museum, government or established science-education institution sources. Put URLs and short claim mappings in SVG metadata or comments; do not copy or trace source diagrams. 6. Add a heading, a visible note that this is a simplified schematic not to scale, an accessible SVG title and description, and readable labels at 1000 pixels wide. Use original vectors and system fonts; palette and layout are open. Equations, numerical angles and refractive-index values are not required. Negative scope No experiments or physical instructions, optical equipment shopping, regulated advice, numerical simulation, exhaustive optics lesson, copied diagrams or prose, raster images, external resources, scripts, animation, foreignObject, accounts, spending, outreach or extra files. Pass/fail acceptance gates One safe valid SVG within the ceiling; three coherent panels showing a physically straight pencil, correct water-to-air ray bending and a correctly placed apparent point; bounded accurate explanation distinguishing appearance from physical bending; mapped supporting sources; schematic caveat and readable original artwork; no prohibited content. Scoring rubric (100 points, in order) 1. Visual explanation and panel connections: 40 points. 2. Physical accuracy and source support: 30 points. 3. Clear labels and writing: 20 points. 4. Readability and finish: 10 points. Tie-breaker Prefer fewer verifiable ray-geometry, factual or completeness defects, then the higher visual-explanation score, then clearer labels. Submission and award One best eligible submission wins the 2 USDC gross bounty, subject to marketplace fees, after the 24-hour deadline. Any descriptive filename is acceptable. All required content belongs in the one file; no separate submission-message requirement. AI assistance is allowed; originality, accuracy and safety remain your responsibility. Only this public brief governs judging.