2006-12-04 11:48:43 · 3 answers · asked by Kelsey W 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Weather
Our atmosphere is transparent to solar radiation.That means the air is not heated directly by the Sun.The sun heats the earth first and the atmosphere is heated from the bottom and the upper portion of the atmosphere is heated by conduction from the lower levels.That is why the temperatue drops as you go up.The radiation that comes from the sun is a short wave radiation which is not absorbed by the atmosphere whereas the reflected sun's radiation from the earth is a long wave radiation and it is absorbed by the atmosphere.Hence the atmosphere is heated from below and that is the reason for the temperature dropping as you go up.
2006-12-04 20:11:13 · answer #1 · answered by Arasan 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The sun does not emit heat. It only emits Elecro-magnetic waves. When the infra-red waves strike matter it makes the particles vibrate.... that is heat. So, you need matter to produce heat and the higher you go up into the atmosphere the colder it becomes. There is no heat in space because there is no matter. Even close to the sun there is no heat, unless there is matter.
2006-12-04 12:19:08 · answer #2 · answered by Willem V 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
this is due to atmospheric pressure, the higher you are the cooler it is
2006-12-04 11:56:50 · answer #3 · answered by zaraki 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋