Does the surface north or south of the equator receive less heat because Earth's surface is curved?

Answer 1

== == The fact that the surface of Earth is curved definitely has a bearing on how much heat any particular point on Earth's surface receives at any given time. But remember, the axis of Earth is tilted about 23 degrees from perpendicular. As such, the critical point is not always on the equator. The critical point could be anywhere between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, depending on the time of year and the time of day. Every moment of every day, there is a point on Earth, somewhere between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, where for a brief second the sun is directly overhead, 90 degrees from the surface of Earth. That point gets the maximum benefit from the sun's rays for that brief second. The more direct the 'hit' of a ray is to the surface of Earth, means the more of the heat of the ray that gets to the surface of Earth. When a ray needs to penetrate through the atmosphere (and all the other 'ospheres) on an angle, it loses heat. The more the angle is away from 90 degrees to the sun, the more heat is lost. This is often quite noticeable during the course of the day. The morning may begin cool, then it will heat up during the day, and cool off again in the evening. This is all related to the angle at which the sun's rays hit Earth. The tilt of Earth is also the reason for the seasons. The less sunlight that reaches the surface of Earth, the less heat also reaches the surface of Earth. During winter, there are fewer hours of sunlight than in summer, and the angle at which the sun's rays reach Earth is farther away from 90 degrees than in summer.