2007-02-02 23:27:46 · 7 answers · asked by Ferd 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Weather
Yes, Ferd ... Scatty is correct. The higher you go, the less dense the atmosphere is and therefore is incapable of absorbing and retaining the heat of the Sun's rays. Even at the Equator, flying at a jetliner's normal cruising altitude produces temperatures well, well below zero.
Here's another good example ... In the southern parts of Vietnam, the daytime high temperatures are never lower than 80°F ... more like 90° to 100°F on a typical day. However, they have a town in the central part of the country called Da Lat; their altitude is several thousand feet. In Da Lat, a daytime high temperature of 90°F is very, very rare and the people walk around at night with hats, coats, and gloves.
Oh, and here's another point: Some extremely high-altitude mountains are eternally covered by snow AT THEIR PEAKS, but not near their base. This bears out what we've all been trying to say; the higher you go in the atmosphere and the less dense the air is, the less heat it can absorb and retain.
Thanks for an excellent, excellent question, Ferd. I wondered about the same thing when I was younger, too.
2007-02-02 23:53:18 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
the energy only forms heat when it reaches a surface that can collect and reflect the heat.
so that mean the heat light comes in but provides no heat or little until it reaches the ground and then it activates more or less so we end up with warmth . as you travel away from the ground after a point it again becomes cooler.
i often wondered this same thing .
i hope this is understandable answer. i get it but i am sure not a writer.
people are talking here about the atmosphere being the collector of heat and not the ground . well that is not correct sorry but the
% of heat loss does not correspond with the thinner air the two are coincidental for the most part . if right now at ground level the temp was 4 and we then came and took all the ground away so that it was again like the sky void of solid matter the temp would not be 4 it would fall yet the air would be the same that would not change at all . see
2007-02-02 23:34:42 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It depends on what lies beyond that mountain. Every step will lead you beyond that mountain, but then it all must not go in vain. Its not always that the toughest of challenges gives you the best of results. You have to know what lies behind that mountain, and only climb if its worth it. PS: Not always should you climb the mountains; sometimes its good to use the valleys.
2016-05-23 22:49:20 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it's because up in the atmosphere, there is little air and air is made up of molecules. With lesser molecules up in the mountains, the temperature will drop. Why? Because molecules, as far as we know, traps heat so with lesser molecules to trap heat, the environment's temperature will not be as heated and thus it is actually colder.
2007-02-03 00:07:18 · answer #4 · answered by Gaara of the Sand 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Its because the temperature decreases with the increase in altitude.
2007-02-06 03:33:17 · answer #5 · answered by Ramya P 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is because of changes in the atmosphere and the air is thinner, thus colder...I think!
2007-02-02 23:37:02 · answer #6 · answered by scatty 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As we go higher, temperature will get low. Because the humidity will not be present.
2007-02-02 23:39:03 · answer #7 · answered by Mohammed Fahad 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋