GG101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Radiant Energy, Solar Wind, Background Radiation
Document Summary
Define energy and radiation and review their properties. Review the characteristics of solar and terrestrial radiation. Introduce the concept of a radiation balance. Examine the orbital relations between the earth and sun. Energy: a measure of the ability or capacity of a system to do work. Work is done when matter is moved over some distance. Energy can be transferred from one location to another radiant energy. The emission and propagation of energy through space or a material medium in the form of waves. For the earth, the most important source of radiant energy is the sun. It drives the climate and hydrological systems that operate in the atmosphere and on the surface. Sun functions as a fusion reactor in which hydrogen atoms fuse into helium atoms and large quantities of energy are liberated. Temp of the surface of the sun: 6000 k. The sun emits radiant energy and also the solar wind.
