ENVIRSC 1C03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Rayleigh Scattering, Solar Constant, Radiant Energy
15 Jan 2017
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Document Summary
The sun is our nearest star that is 150 million kilometres away. It is a giant furnace that has a hot core with temperature 15 million degrees celsius. In the core hydrogen nuclei (protons) collide at high speeds that they fuse to form helium nuclei. During this reaction, a heavy hydrogen atom is formed as an intermediate step. This thermonuclear process generates an enormous amount of energy which works its way to the surface of the suns outer luminous surface called the photosphere. The energy transferred form the sun is called radiant energy or radiation. It travels in the form of waves that release energy when absorbed by objects. They have electrical and magnetic properties that are called electromagnetic waves. Each wave has a wavelength which determines the form of energy e. g. light or heat. The solar constant: only a little bit of the radiation that the sun gives off reaches the earth.
