how does the earth’s surface get heated by the sun’s radiation?
The Earth's surface gets heated by the Sun's radiation through a process called solar radiation. Here is an explanation of how it works:
1. The Sun emits energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation. This radiation travels through space in the form of waves.
2. Most of the Sun's energy is in the form of visible light, but it also emits ultraviolet (UV) radiation and infrared (IR) radiation.
3. When the Sun's radiation reaches the Earth, it interacts with the atmosphere. Some of the radiation is absorbed or scattered by the air molecules.
4. The remaining radiation passes through the atmosphere and reaches the Earth's surface. Approximately 50% of this solar energy is absorbed by the Earth's surface, while the rest is reflected back into space.
5. Once the energy is absorbed by the Earth's surface, it heats up. This is because the energy from the Sun's radiation is converted to heat energy when it is absorbed by the materials on the Earth's surface, such as land, water, and vegetation.
6. The heated Earth's surface then radiates some of this energy back into space. However, a portion of the heat is trapped by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, like carbon dioxide and water vapor, causing the greenhouse effect. This helps keep the Earth warm.
So, in summary, the Earth's surface gets heated by the Sun's radiation as it absorbs the energy from the incoming solar radiation, which causes the surface to warm up.