Solar Energy

Ultraviolet Radiation

Wavelengths shorter than violet light; sunburn is caused by ultraviolet radiation; eye damage.

Electromagnetic Waves

A form of energy that can travel trhough space.

How much of the energy in the Earht's atmosphere comes from the sun?

About 1/2

Roy G Biv

Acronym for the colors in the spectrum: R=red; O=orange; Y=yellow; G=green; B=blue; I=indigo; V=violet.

Why is the sky blue?

Blue is reflected, gas molecules scatter shorter wavelenghts at visible light.

Reflection

Bounces off

Radiation

Direct transfer of energy by electromagnetic waves.

What might the condictions on Earth be like without the greenhouse effect?

Earth would be much colder than it is today.

What type of waves are classified according to wavelenght or the distance between waves?

Electromagnetic

Solar energy called ____________ radiation is felt as heat andhas wavelenghts longer than that of red light.

Infrared

What causes the greenhouse effect?

Infrared radiation reflects back to the atmosphere, it is absorbed back by gases in the, air, these gases blanket the Earth and hold heat in.

How are the three forms of radiation different?

Infrared; longer wavelengths, cannot be seen, felt as heat. Ultraviolet; shorter wavelenghts cannot be seen, felt as heat. Visible; mixture of all colors of the rainbow,wavelenght in the middle, can be seen by the human eye.

List three forms of radiation from the sun?

Infrared; ultraviolet; visible

What happens to energy from the sun that is absorbed by the Earth's surface?

It is reflected back into the atmosphere or absorbed by land and water and transformed into heat.

Infrared Radiation

Longer Wavelengths

Visible Light

Mixture of all colors of the rainbow, red/orange - longest wavelenghts; blue/purple - shortest wavelengths.

The direct transfer of energy by electromagnetic waves is called _________.

Radiation

Scattering

Reflection of light in all directions

Ultraviolet Radiation

Shorter Wavelenghts

Why are sunsets red?

Sunsets are red because the atmosphere is thicker.

Absorption

Takes in

Wavelength

The horizontal distance between two wave crests or two troughs.

Infrared Radiation

Wave lengths longer than red light; not visible; felt as heat.