Energy in the Atmosphere

• Electromagnetic Waves

• Nearly all energy in Earth’s atmosphere comes from the sun. This energy travels through space in the form of electromagnetic waves.

• Radiation • Radiation is the direct transfer of energy by electromagnetic waves.

• Example: your body heats up when hit by electromagnetic waves, this is called radiation.

3- Types of electromagnetic rays:

•Infrared Radiation

•Ultraviolet radiation

•Visible light

•electromagnetic spectrum video.

• Infrared Radiation

• Creates heat. It has the longest wavelength.

• Ultraviolet Electromagnetic waves

• UV the Hidden Danger

• electromagntic waves UV

• causes sunburns and eye damage (UV) and has the shortest wavelength. This is the most dangerous type of radiation. Sunscreen helps protect us from this type of radiation.

• Visible Light • electromagnetic waves that create color.

• ROY G BIV • R= longest wavelength • V= shortest wavelength

• Apples are red because they absorb every color but red. They reflect red so you see red.

• White reflects all color. It absorbs nothing.

• Black reflects no color. It absorbs it all.

• What is Light? Video clip• apple light reflection video

• Reflection of Light

• As these electromagnetic waves travel through the atmosphere to earth, some of them are reflected and some are absorbed by particles in the atmosphere.

• Reflection of light in all directions is called scattering. This causes the sky to be blue. The particles in the air scatter the blue and violet wavelengths. So we see blue.

• Greenhouse Effect

• The greenhouse effect is caused by the reflection of light back and forth between Earth and the blanket of gases surrounding the Earth.

• This is what keeps Earth at a comfortable temperature for all the living organisms on Earth. Without it we would freeze to death.