Name: Johnathan
Status: other
Age: N/A
Location: South Africa
Country: N/A
Date: N/A
Question:
What is the amount of infrared energy in sunlight
that a) is radiated by the sun b) reaches Earth's surface? What
percentage of the total light energy that reaches Earth's surface
does it constitute?
Replies:
The amount of electromagnetic radiation that is radiated by the
Sun, and that reaches the surface of the Earth is not a constant.
It depends upon solar activity, the angle of incidence which varies
from place to place on the Earth as well as the season of the year,
and a number of atmospheric conditions such as water vapor and cloud cover.
A Google search for the term "solar irradiance" provides a
number of web sites that discuss the various parameters that affect
the energy flux as a function of wavelength (frequency). One site
is:
NEWTON is an electronic community for Science, Math, and Computer Science K-12 Educators, sponsored and operated by Argonne National Laboratory's Educational Programs, Andrew Skipor, Ph.D., Head of Educational Programs.
