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Answers to Readers' Questions on Physical Science:

Heat Transfer on Earth

The following 4 comments and questions have been sent in. They are listed according to date.

List of first 10 items

• Will the Earth slow down from global warming?
• Why solar radiation heats the ground
• Why doesn't the Earth's temperature go up from the sun?
• How is air near the ground warmed by sunlight?

Next 10

Will the Earth slow down from global warming?

Question

June 15, 2010

Due to increse in tempeture there is effect on earth revulation (May be some few scecond )

sam - India

19906

Answer

It is possible that the rotation of the Earth will slow down due to global warming if the ice at the poles starts to melt. The added water will produce extra friction on the rotation of the Earth, thus slowing it down a small amount.

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Why solar radiation heats the ground

Question

February 4, 2010

pls kindly sent me the need why solar radiation comes to the land to fall as heat

Abdallah - Nigeria

19157

Answer

When light from the Sun hits the ground, much of the light is absorbed in the material, giving it energy and thus heating it up. The same thing happens when you feel the heat from the light of a fire.

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Why doesn't the Earth's temperature go up from the sun?

Question

December 14, 2009

Hi-
If the average temperature on the earth's surface is above 300 K, why doesn't the earth's temperature go above 300 K as it intercepts the sun's energy? Thank you<

Erin - USA

18848

Answer

The Earth's surface temperature increases when the sun is shining on it, but then much of that heat is radiated into space during the evening hours. Although the temperature goes up and down between day and night and with the seasons, it still maintains an average temperature, due to radiating the excess into space

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How is air near the ground warmed by sunlight?

Question

November 12, 2008

I still dont understand how the air near the ground is warmed by sunlight. Reading all of that only made me undertstand that heat comes from the core.

- USA

16791

Answer

Heat from the core of the Earth moves up slowly, but by the time it gets to the surface, it does not have much effect on the ground temperature.

When the sun shines on the ground, the radiation is absorbed and heats the ground material. Dark soil absorbs the radiation the best. This means that the atoms in the material are moving faster.

Air molecules that come into contact with the ground are sped up from the fast-moving atoms and thus resulting in increasing the temperature of the air near the ground.

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