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What causes climate and weather?
Energy
It's no mystery that the Earth receives most of its energy from the sun. Let's say you are in space, and you have a 1 meter by 1 meter board. The amount of solar energy hitting your board would be equivalent to almost 14 100-watt light bulbs (the exact number of watts is closer to 1,367).
But, what happens to that energy once it reaches our planet? This webpage from Windows to the Universe explains how solar energy would reach the surface with no atmosphere, and here you can learn about the atmosphere's influence on incoming solar radiation.
The Earth's surface and atmosphere also emit radiation, and there is a balance between the incoming and outgoing radiation that keeps global temperatures in equilibrium.
Next page -> energy continued
Links and resources
Energy
It's no mystery that the Earth receives most of its energy from the sun. Let's say you are in space, and you have a 1 meter by 1 meter board. The amount of solar energy hitting your board would be equivalent to almost 14 100-watt light bulbs (the exact number of watts is closer to 1,367).
But, what happens to that energy once it reaches our planet? This webpage from Windows to the Universe explains how solar energy would reach the surface with no atmosphere, and here you can learn about the atmosphere's influence on incoming solar radiation.
The Earth's surface and atmosphere also emit radiation, and there is a balance between the incoming and outgoing radiation that keeps global temperatures in equilibrium.
Next page -> energy continued
Links and resources
