blog #14
The Simplest Explanation Of Global Warming Ever
by: Ethan Siegel
January 2, 2019
The two forces that decide the temperature of any object are, energy going into an object (often the sun) and energy radiated from an object. In short, this is an input-output system. Heat is absorbed during the day, and radiated back at both night and day.
As the Earths orbital pattern is that of an ellipse, it is closer to the Sun from early January to July, meaning those months are typically warmer than others. Surface albedo affects light absorption as well, the lighter the surface the more heat it is able to reflect. “On average, however, the Earth is very consistent: 31% of the incident radiation gets reflected, while 69% gets absorbed.”
However, the reason Earths temperature is not freezing, is due to the heat retaining properties of the atmosphere. Not all reflected heat is immediately removed into space, it is often temporarily held within the atmosphere. H2O, CH4, and CO2 are the three main gasses which prevent heat from escaping, as they are not transparent to all types of radiation.
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