EARTHSS 15 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Quantum Mechanics, Atomic Nucleus, Black-Body Radiation
8 Nov 2016
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Just a way of thinking about where the watts are going. Separate in 3 components: outer space, the atmosphere. Watts in from surface: the surface. Follow the watts and the processes that move energy through the system. The earths surface constantly absorbs solar energy, but te reason it doesn"t just heat up until it melts is because it is constantly cooled, primarily by the process of: evaporation/latent heat. Saw: all the colors of the rainbow. The solid tungsten filament in an incandescent bulb heats up to a temperature betrween. Saw only a few specific colors of the rainbow. It involves amazing physics of how gas moleccules. When radiation interacts with atoms and molecules, only certain jumps in energy are possible. Electrons orbit at specific energy levels above an atomic nucleus. Absorption of a photon of just the right energy can make them jump up to the next level. Most electron transition in gases absorb/emit visible or uv light.
