Average Top of Atmosphere Radiation Balance: |
Look around with the infrared camera.
Note nose, hair, eyeglasses, ears, skin, skin with water on it, nostrils breathing out and breathing in.
Strong IR absorbers are strong emitters; skin as strong, aluminum foil as weak.
Demonstrate use of IR to look at conduction along the propane torch heated glass rod.
Demonstrate friction as a source of heat to leave a message readable by the IR camera.
Demonstrate optics of trashbag in visible and IR wavelength ranges.
Demonstrate optics of transparent plate in the same way.
Transparent plate as an extreme example of how the atmosphere works, transparent to sunlight (more or less) and absorbing, emitting in the IR. (Closer to cloudy conditions for IR behavior).Additional detailed notes on the demonstration (by Dr. Bauer).
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Figure 1. Average surface temperature for the years 1948 to 1958 calculated using the National Center for Environmental Prediction Reanalysis data set. |
Figure 2. Average surface temperature for the years 2000 to 2010 calculated using the National Center for Environmental Prediction Reanalysis data set. |