File:CO2 H2O absorption atmospheric gases unique pattern energy wavelengths of energy transparent to others.png
Summary
All atmospheric <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas" class="extiw" title="en:Gas">gases</a> have a unique pattern of energy <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorption_(electromagnetic_radiation)" class="extiw" title="w:Absorption (electromagnetic radiation)">absorption</a>: they absorb some wavelengths of energy but are transparent to others. The absorption patterns of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/water_vapor" class="extiw" title="en:water vapor">water vapor</a> (blue peaks) and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide" class="extiw" title="w:Carbon dioxide">carbon dioxide</a> (pink peaks) overlap in some <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/wavelength" class="extiw" title="en:wavelength">wavelengths</a>. Carbon dioxide is not as strong a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/greenhouse_gas" class="extiw" title="en:greenhouse gas">greenhouse gas</a> as water vapor, but it absorbs energy in wavelengths (12-15 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/micrometers" class="extiw" title="en:micrometers">micrometers</a>) that water vapor does not, partially closing the “window” through which <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat" class="extiw" title="en:Heat">heat</a> radiated by the surface would normally escape to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/outer_space" class="extiw" title="en:outer space">space</a>. (Illustration adapted from Robert Rohde.)
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File history
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Date/Time | Thumbnail | Dimensions | User | Comment | |
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current | 11:12, 5 January 2017 | 720 × 107 (12 KB) | 127.0.0.1 (talk) | All atmospheric <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas" class="extiw" title="en:Gas">gases</a> have a unique pattern of energy <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorption_(electromagnetic_radiation)" class="extiw" title="w:Absorption (electromagnetic radiation)">absorption</a>: they absorb some wavelengths of energy but are transparent to others. The absorption patterns of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/water_vapor" class="extiw" title="en:water vapor">water vapor</a> (blue peaks) and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide" class="extiw" title="w:Carbon dioxide">carbon dioxide</a> (pink peaks) overlap in some <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/wavelength" class="extiw" title="en:wavelength">wavelengths</a>. Carbon dioxide is not as strong a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/greenhouse_gas" class="extiw" title="en:greenhouse gas">greenhouse gas</a> as water vapor, but it absorbs energy in wavelengths (12-15 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/micrometers" class="extiw" title="en:micrometers">micrometers</a>) that water vapor does not, partially closing the “window” through which <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat" class="extiw" title="en:Heat">heat</a> radiated by the surface would normally escape to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/outer_space" class="extiw" title="en:outer space">space</a>. (Illustration adapted from Robert Rohde.) |
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