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Schlieren photograph of hot air rising from 4 candle flames

The heat rising from the flames changes the density of the air above them. These different concentrations of air act like a prism. In this case where the gradient (change) in temperature is from hot to cold air the light rays are bent towards a green filer and where the temperature changes from cold to hot the deviation is towards a red filter. Ultimately the colors are chosen arbitrarily and do not represent regions of hot or cold.