well, we'll just see, then, I guess.
wrt the physics, the idea was using firebending to heat air to create density gradients, refracting light to produce optical illusions à la mirages.
more radically, since firebending is capable of lightning generation, and it is theoretically possible, with electromagnetic symmetry, to manipulate photons using electric currents ... which can, in theory, likewise be used to produce optical illusions.
wrt the physics, the idea was using firebending to heat air to create density gradients, refracting light to produce optical illusions à la mirages.
more radically, since firebending is capable of lightning generation, and it is theoretically possible, with electromagnetic symmetry, to manipulate photons using electric currents ... which can, in theory, likewise be used to produce optical illusions.