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Thursday, September 12, 2019

Universal Misconceptions About the Greenhouse Effect

Many global warming deniers and believers both have misconceptions about the Greenhouse Effect.

The popular term ‘greenhouse effect’ is merely an analogy used to help describe the blanketing effect that carbon dioxide has on infrared radiation (even the term ‘blanketing effect’ is an analogy’). To better understand the science of how carbon dioxide slows down the escape to space of infrared radiation, one needs to understand that CO2 absorbs and re-emits this long wave form of energy. Extra CO2 increases this dynamic.
https://scied.ucar.edu/carbon-dioxide-absorbs-and-re-emits-infrared-radiation

‘Thermal radiation’ is the emission of energetic electromagnetic waves otherwise known as ‘infrared radiation’. 
This is sometimes confused with ‘thermal conduction’ (heat transfer within objects).
Note that, yes, objects do radiate heat, but it is in the form of long wave infrared radiation. However, when you touch a warm object, the heat that you feel is physically and directly thermally conducted; and your ‘now warmer hand’ will radiate an increase of infrared radiation into the atmosphere. Thus, you have absorbed and re-emitted heat just as carbon dioxide does. 
[Note: It is only the larger atmospheric gases that can absorb and re-emit infrared energy. Nitrogen and oxygen do not.]
http://samslair.blogspot.com/2019/08/carbon-dioxide-absorbs-and-re-emits.html?m=1

Thermal Radiation:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_radiation

Thermal Conduction:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_conduction

Another difficulty for some is to comprehend how a trace gas such as CO2 could have such a powerful influence in the greenhouse effect.
Well, saying that CO2 is "only a trace gas" is like saying that arsenic is "only" a trace water contaminant. Small amounts of very active substances can cause large effects. 
https://skepticalscience.com/CO2-trace-gas.htm
Also, consider the co-measurement of water vapor and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere such that if you could bring all the clouds and water vapor in the atmosphere to the surface, it would form a ‘liquid’ layer less than an inch deep, and clouds alone would create a layer no deeper than a coat of paint. And if just this past year’s carbon dioxide emissions alone could be confined to an undiluted layer of pure CO2 at the surface of the Earth, the layer would be about 1.5 inches thick. Now, multiply that times the number of years.....

Carbon Dioxide and Water Vapor As Greenhouse Gases:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/if-carbon-dioxide-makes-u/

Supplemental Information: 
“Debunking Myths About CO2, Global Warming and Greenhouse Effect”
(26 minutes):
https://youtu.be/rs3JSF5_0as

Advanced study of greenhouse effect
(62 short videos):
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX2gX-ftPVXUNpoyWX5PeZQy5CNlPh0r3

Search:
greenhouse effect quantum physics