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The atmosphere is heated chiefly by radiation from Earth's surface rather than by direct solar radiation because about 50 percent of the solar energy is absorbed at Earth's surface. 30 percent is reflected back to space. 20 percent is absorbed by clouds and the atmosphere's gases.

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Why does the thermosphere have the highest temperature out of all the other layers?

The thermosphere is heated by solar radiation particularly in the far ultraviolet range; much of this is filtered out by the atmosphere's lower layers - but in the these upper regions it is more exposed to this kind of radiation.


Is the earths atmosphere heated by solar energy?

Yes, the Earth's atmosphere is heated by solar energy. Sunlight penetrates the atmosphere and warms the surface of the Earth. This heat is then radiated back into the atmosphere, contributing to its overall temperature.


Why does the temperature of the atmosphere does not increase or decrease steadily as you move from earths surface toward space?

The upper layers of the atmosphere are heated from above, while the lower layers are heated from below, because infrared radiation is given off by the Earth's surface in response to solar heating. The lower troposphere (with its denser molecules and water vapor) receives heat from both re-radiation and convection. The result is that while the atmosphere always gets thinner with altitude, the temperature decreases with altitude in the troposphere, then increases with altitude in the stratosphere. The very high temperatures in the thermosphere are moot because of the low specific heat (energy capacity) of the tenuous gases there.


What causes the temperature to decrease when the sun is out?

The atmosphere is actually heated by the earth, not by the sun directly. Visible light passes through the atmosphere and strikes the surface of the earth, and thus warms the surface layer of the earth. The atmosphere is mostly transparent to visible light, meaning the light does not absorb visible light, and is therefore not heated by visible light. As the surface of the earth warms up, it radiates low intensity infrared radiation, which is not transparent to the atmosphere, and so the atmosphere absorbs the infrared radiation, and warms up. The air closest to the surface of the earth absorbs most of the infrared radiation, and is therefore warmer than air at a higher altitude. In fact, above about 10 km, the temperature starts to increase again due to the presence of the ozone layer. This absorbs solar ultraviolet radiation which leads to heating.


Why is the mesosphere so hot?

The mesosphere is actually one of the coldest layers of the Earth's atmosphere, with temperatures decreasing as you go higher in altitude. The high temperatures in the thermosphere are due to the absorption of solar radiation by the very thin air in that layer, causing it to be heated up.

Related Questions

When earths surface is heated it radiates most of the energy back into the atmosphere as ultraviolet radiation?

Not as ultraviolet; the radiation is emitted as infrared radiation.


Why is the atmosphere is heated cheifly by radition from Earth's surface rather than by direct solar radiation?

The atmosphere is heated chiefly by radiation from Earth's surface because the Earth's surface absorbs solar energy and emits it as infrared radiation. This infrared radiation is then trapped by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, causing the atmosphere to be heated. Direct solar radiation contributes to heating the Earth's surface, which in turn warms the atmosphere through convection and radiation.


Which term best describes how the earth's atmosphere is heated?

m


How many part of atmosphere heated by solar radiation?

All parts


What metal did bohr use in his experiment?

Niels Bohr used copper in his experiment on the electromagnetic radiation emitted by metals when heated.


If clouds absorb only a small amount of solar radiation how is Earth's atmosphere heated?

The Earth's atmosphere is primarily heated through the process of re-radiation, where the Earth's surface absorbs incoming solar radiation and then releases it as heat energy. This heat is then trapped within the atmosphere by greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, water vapor, and methane, resulting in an overall warming effect. While clouds do reflect some solar radiation back into space, they also play a role in trapping heat through their greenhouse effect.


What heats earths atmosphere?

The sun heats the atmosphere. Solar radiation largely passes through the atmosphere and warms the surface of the earth. The earth then radiates heat up into the lower levels of the atmosphere where greenhouse gases warm. The warmed greenhouse gases then continue to radiate heat in all directions warming the atmosphere and again the earth's surface.


What heats the lower atmosphere?

The lower atmosphere is primarily heated by the sun's radiation. As sunlight enters the atmosphere, it warms the Earth's surface, which then emits heat energy back into the atmosphere. This process creates a temperature gradient, with warmer air near the surface and cooler air at higher altitudes.


Can you provide some examples of blackbody radiation and explain their significance in physics?

Blackbody radiation refers to the electromagnetic radiation emitted by a perfect absorber and emitter of radiation, known as a blackbody. Examples of blackbody radiation include the radiation emitted by stars, such as the Sun, and the thermal radiation emitted by objects at high temperatures, like a heated metal rod. In physics, blackbody radiation is significant because it helped to develop the understanding of quantum mechanics and the concept of energy quantization. The study of blackbody radiation also led to the development of Planck's law, which describes the spectral distribution of radiation emitted by a blackbody at a given temperature. This law played a crucial role in the development of modern physics and the theory of quantum mechanics.


When Earths surface is heated it radiates some of the energy back into the atmosphere as?

When Earths surface is heated it radiates some of the energy back into the atmosphere as "Infrared Radiation."


Why is Earth's atmosphere mainly heated from the ground up?

Solar radiation mostly passes through the atmosphere without heating it, due to its wavelength. It does not pass through the ground, however, and it heats the ground. The ground emits radiation at a wavelength dependent on its temperature. This radiation happens to be in the thermal infrared part of the spectrum, or in other words, sensible heat. Therefore, the atmosphere is heated by the surface, whereupon the heat tends to rise and heat the lower atmosphere.


What form of radiation heats up the Earths atmosphere?

infrared rays