Name One Substance That Traps Heat
There is no substance on Earth that can trap in heat. The amount of energy a substance can absorb is exactly inversely proportional to the amount of energy it will re-emit. For more on this see the Stefan-Boltzman law. If there was such a substance we would have no need for Thermos flasks and we would only have to heat our homes once each winter, as we could take this amazing heat trapping substance and fill every cavity and every inch of attic space with it.
Substances that absorb heat, re-emit that heat equally. This applies to all gasses in the atmosphere and CO2 is no exception to this rule. All gasses are gasses by virtue of the fact that they have all absorbed large amounts of heat (infrared or long-wave energy) If they had not they wouldn’t be gasses but instead would remain as solid ice. The only characteristic that can distinguish one gas from another in terms of energy absorption is conductivity, or the amount of energy a particular gas or substance will absorb and re-emit compared to another. This is referred to as thermal conductivity. Statistical thermodynamics says that "temperature" is not really defined for individual molecules, but rather is a property associated with large collections of atoms and molecules vibrating and (in the case of fluid/gasses) colliding (mixing) with each other. CO2 is extremely well mixed with all the other gasses in the atmosphere so even the slightest increase in temperature will induce rapid gas expansion causing the warm air to rise as it is displaced by denser, less warm air above it. This is the process of convection , a very powerful force responsible for moving heat away from the ground and up and out into space. This process can only be described as temperature regulation. Greenhouse’s are designed to prevent convection by the use of glass which simply prevents the warm air inside from being displaced by cooler and more dense air above.
The conclusion to be drawn here then is that in the open free flowing atmosphere there is no “greenhouse effect” to be observed and therefore no “greenhouse gasses” which can trap in the heat. For more on this please click this link No such thing as “Greenhouse Effect”
CO2 The Blog
Monday, 2 November 2009
