As we go higher altitude it should be hot ,because we are going towards sun ie we are a little more closer to sun than the down,but its not too hot its too chilled, why?
2007-05-16 20:09:19 · 4 answers · asked by manu 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Weather
It has to do with the compression of air. As air is compressed by the weight of the air above it, it heats up. There is less air above it so it is less compressed and thus cooler.
2007-05-16 20:14:43 · answer #1 · answered by bravozulu 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Good question and the answer is fairly simple. It has nothing to do with closeness to the sun. The compressed air answer was correct but incomplete. It also has to do with humidity. The air at 15,000' is dry and it is the water content of the air that retains the heat. That is why desert air at night can be a lot colder at night because it is dryer than the air along the coast which is humid. Along the coast the daily temp may be 72 high and 55 low but in the desert just 50 miles away and dry it may be 96 in the day and 44 at night. Back to the mountains, air at 15,000' altitude is less dense and holds less water vapor. Any air rising up the mountain on a warm day is cooled by expanding (adiabatic cooling). Any radiation heating, heating caused by direct insolation of the ground, isn't very effective at altitude because dry air cannot retain heat effectively. So why is the desert so hot when it is so dry? Because of the dense air at deserts, they are low right? Even though the humidity in the desert is 10% at 90 degrees that is more water vapor (per cubic foot of air) than humidity of 10% at 30 degrees at 15,000'
2007-05-17 20:31:03 · answer #2 · answered by DaveSFV 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Earth's atmosphere acts like a thick blanket keeping us warm and moderating the extremes. The moon is many degrees below zero or blazing hot because there is no atmosphere.
The sun's energy heats up the surface of the planet and radiates up. The atmosphere traps some of this heat. Just like a thick coat keeps you warm. The higher you travel up a mountain means you have a thinner layer of the atmosphere above you and thus thinner layer of air to trap the heat. So similar to a thinner jacket it traps less heat.
2007-05-17 03:27:31 · answer #3 · answered by oski93 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the sun rays bounces off of them at an extreme angles isn't absorbed enough to heat the atomsphere.
2007-05-17 13:11:43 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋