ENVIRON 157 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Black-Body Radiation
Document Summary
What goes in depends on the temperature of the sun. And the radiation is blocked by the atmosphere. What goes out of the earth is in the form of infinite radiation. Like standing in front of a hot stove. Cannot control water vapor because it is naturally occurring. The rock that covers the surface of the earth is a great insulator. When a volcano erupts, it is actually a good source of energy. Earth receives an average of 342 watts of incoming solar energy per square meter (yellow paths, showing shortwave energy). Earth, like all bodies, seeks to be in a temperature equilibrium with its environment. So, much of the solar energy that earth absorbs is emitted back to space in the form of heat (red paths, showing longwave energy). Much of the heat energy emitted from the surface is absorbed and then re-emitted by gases in the atmosphere so that, effectively, these so-called greenhouse gases slow the rate of.
