GEOG 155 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Shortwave Radiation, Background Radiation, Sensible Heat
Document Summary
Kinetic energy has to do with the movement of an object. Chemical energy is in the chemical reactions in things. Radiation: a transmission of energy in the form of electromagnetic waves. Does not require transfer medium, and is able to move heat through vacuum of outer space. Amount of radiation emitted and wavelength emitted depend strongly on temperature. As temperature of an object increases, higher proportion of energy is emitted at higher-energy, shorter wavelengths: shortwave radiation: radiation coming from sun, longwave radiation: radiation emitted from earth, terrestrial radiation: counterpoint to solar radiation. Conduction: energy transfer accomplished by contact between individual molecules. Requires transfer medium: rate of heat transfer depends partly on material, temperature gradient is the change in temperature per unit distance. Convection: energy transfer is accomplished by the flow of heat. Sensible heat transfer: takes place when air or water at one temperature moves to a location with a different temperature.
