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Greenhouse gases absorb infrared electromagnetic radiation. As sunlight (mostly UV and visible light) heats the earth, longer wavelengths are radiated or emitted, i.e infrared light. Infrared active molecules, such as carbon dioxide and methane, absorb infrared light causing these molecules to vibrate. High concentrations of these vibrating molecules in the gaseous atmosphere provides for energy transfer (kinetic) due to vibrational collision. Because temperature is simply a measure of kinetic energy in matter, an increase in vibrational energy of gaseous molecules results in a rise in air temperature. The global result is an increase in measured average ambient temperatures.
Greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide and methane, allow sunlight to enter and heat the Earth's surface. When the surface absorbs the sunlight, it emits infrared radiation, which greenhouse gases trap and prevent from escaping into space. This process is known as the greenhouse effect, which helps regulate the Earth's temperature.
Greenhouse gas molecules absorb infrared radiation. The energy they absorb from the Sun is not as important as what they block and reradiate from the Earth! Here is what happens:
Sunlight comes from the sun, goes through outer space, and enters the Earth's atmosphere. The light passes through the ozone layer, which filters out the UV and more energetic light, but at this point the greenhouse gases are not actually doing anything to the visible light. The light then strikes the Earth, and warms it. Any warm body will emit infrared (IR) radiation (this is due to something called the blackbody effect, and it is also how some night-vision goggles work). The IR radiation that is emitted by the Earth (again, because it was heated by sunlight) is what the greenhouse gases absorb.
Imagine for a moment that there were no greenhouses gases. The sunlight would hit the Earth, and the Earth would absorb that light and re-emit IR radiation. That IR radiation would just go out into space and the temperature of the Earth would be much higher in the daytime and lower at night (like the surface of the Moon). Instead, because there are greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, that radiation gets absorbed by those molecules and when they absorb it, the IR radiation gets converted to heat. This additional heat stays in the atmosphere, and the net result is that the average global temperature goes up.
Greenhouse gases might reflect sunlight back onto Earth's surface. They also absorb the infrared rays of heat rising from the Earth. Heat rays are also trapped on Earth by the greenhouse gases when it bounces off into the atmosphere, retaining heat on Earth and causing a rise in temperature.
Most of the incoming radiation from the sun is in the form of ultraviolet and visible "long wave" light, which does not warm the greenhouse gases. This radiation warms the surface of the earth. The warm earth emits radiation in the form of "short wave" infrared radiation, which DOES excite the greenhouse gases causing them to warm. When this heat is trapped by the greenhouse gases, then it does not pass easily out to space.
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What name is given to gases which trap heat from the sun?
They are generally called Greenhouses gases, as greenhouses trap heat into the glass.
The process by which gases hold heat in the atmosphere is called the what?
The process by which gases hold heat in the atmosphere is called the greenhouse effect. This occurs when certain gases in the atmosphere trap heat from the sun, leading to an increase in temperature on Earth. Some of the key greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor.
What do greenhouse gases in the atmosphere absorb?
Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere absorb and trap heat energy from the sun. They prevent some of this heat from escaping back into space, contributing to the Earth's warming and the greenhouse effect.
What are green house gases or atmospheric gases?
Greenhouse gases are gases in Earth's atmosphere that trap heat, leading to the greenhouse effect and global warming. Examples include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and water vapor. These gases contribute to climate change by absorbing and emitting radiation within the thermal infrared range.
Name two greenhouse gases in your atmosphere?
Two greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). These gases trap heat from the sun, leading to the greenhouse effect and contributing to global warming.
Is the sun involved in the greenhouse gases?
Yes. The greenhouse gases trap the sun's heat.
What greenhouse effect is?
gases in the atmosphere trap the heat from the sun
What name is given to gases which trap heat from the sun?
They are generally called Greenhouses gases, as greenhouses trap heat into the glass.
What do greenhouses gases trap?
Greenhouse gases trap infrared heat (from the sun) rising from the surface of the earth. More greenhouse gases trap more heat, and this is the situation now. Increasing levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in particular are trapping more heat and causing a global warming.
What is a gas in the atmosphere that traps heat?
Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, are gases in the atmosphere that trap heat from the sun, leading to the greenhouse effect and contributing to global warming.
The process by which gases hold heat in the atmosphere is called the what?
The process by which gases hold heat in the atmosphere is called the greenhouse effect. This occurs when certain gases in the atmosphere trap heat from the sun, leading to an increase in temperature on Earth. Some of the key greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor.
What do greenhouse gases in the atmosphere absorb?
Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere absorb and trap heat energy from the sun. They prevent some of this heat from escaping back into space, contributing to the Earth's warming and the greenhouse effect.
What are green house gases or atmospheric gases?
Greenhouse gases are gases in Earth's atmosphere that trap heat, leading to the greenhouse effect and global warming. Examples include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and water vapor. These gases contribute to climate change by absorbing and emitting radiation within the thermal infrared range.
Name two greenhouse gases in your atmosphere?
Two greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). These gases trap heat from the sun, leading to the greenhouse effect and contributing to global warming.
Gases in the atmosphere trap the sun's warmth?
Greenhouse effect
How does an increase in greenhouse gas in the atmosphere contribute to an increase in global temperature?
Greenhouse gases trap heat from the sun in Earth's atmosphere, creating a "greenhouse effect". When the concentration of greenhouse gases increases, more heat is trapped, leading to an increase in global temperature. This phenomenon is a key driver of climate change.
How does the wall of aquarium relate to greenhouse gases?
Since the greenhouse gases trap heat from the sun and prevent it from escaping into space the wall of an aquarium traps the water and prevents it from escaping
