2006-06-13 10:32:22 · 3 answers · asked by canon 1 in Environment
A greenhouse gas is any gas that is transparent to visible light, but absorbs infrared light. Carbon dioxide and water vapor are good examples.
They are called greenhouse gases because, like a greenhouse, they allow light in, but don't allow heat to escape. Things at normal earth temperatures radiate in the infrared. When the sun's visible light shines on something (your house, for example), it gets warm and radiates that heat away in the form of infrared light. But if there is a lot of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, that infrared light will be re-absorbed by the atmosphere, warming the planet as a whole.
2006-06-13 10:39:23 · answer #1 · answered by Keith P 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Any gas which can absorb infrared radiation due to the polarity of the bonds in the molecule. The molecule itself does not have to be polar, but its bonds must be.
Thus, the major components of air, which are nitrogen, oxygen, and argon, are not greenhouse gasses, but methane, water vapor, and carbon dioxide are.
2006-06-13 10:35:40 · answer #2 · answered by TheOnlyBeldin 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't want to give those stupid answers like gases in a green house. All I can tell is the "is" doesn't go well plural - "gases"
2006-06-13 10:37:18 · answer #3 · answered by Junk Head 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋