Concept explainers
The wavelength at which most of the Sun’s energy is emitted even though the Sun emits light energy of all wavelengths.
Answer to Problem 1CC
Solution:
Most of the Sun’s energy is in the visible range.
Explanation of Solution
Introduction:
The largest body of the solar system is the Sun, having 1000 times more mass than other celestial bodies. Life on Earth is possible due to the Sun, as the food chain is directly dependent on the Sun’s energy.
Explanation:
Sun emits a huge amount of
Conclusion:
Hence, Sun emits its energy in the visible range mostly.
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Chapter 16 Solutions
Universe
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- Earth's daylight surface disk absorbs about 1047 W per m2 from the Sun. Using 6400 km for the Earth's radius, how much of this radiative power is emitted by each square meter of the spherical Earth? (Compare ratio of disk area to spherical surface area)arrow_forwardA friend who has not had the benefit of an astronomy course suggests that the Sun must be full of burning coal to shine as brightly as it does. List as many arguments as you can against this hypothesis.arrow_forwardThe greenhouse effect can be explained easily if you understand the laws of blackbody radiation. A greenhouse gas blocks the transmission of infrared light. Given that the incoming light to Earth is sunlight with a characteristic temperature of 5800 K (which peaks in the visible part of the spectrum) and the outgoing light from Earth has a characteristic temperature of about 300 K (which peaks in the infrared part of the spectrum), explain how greenhouse gases cause Earth to warm up. As part of your answer, discuss that greenhouse gases block both incoming and outgoing infrared light. Explain why these two effects don’t simply cancel each other, leading to no net temperature change.arrow_forward
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