You may be wrong, you stated that:
“As the earth heats up from the effects of the sun, there is only one way it can cool off, by radiating its excess heat into space.”
I agree that radiation is one way the Earth loses heat, but it is not the only one.
If the atmosphere expands and the molecules (or atoms) escape the Earth’s gravitational field, then the planet will become colder.
Information from:
http://www.phys.uri.edu/~gerhard/PHY525/tln23.pdf
“During expansion, a gas does work against attractive intermolecular forces.
In the process, the average potential energy increases and, by virtue of energy
conservation, the average kinetic energy decreases. The result is a drop
in temperature.”
At the following site there is a test that you can take to see if you understand the concept.
http://www.phys.uri.edu/~gerhard/PHY525/wtex72.pdf
Off Topic » in reply to Re: No, but corn didn't grow in Iowa, either.
Re: No, but corn didn't grow in Iowa, either.
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- Breathing Earth