| The Earth is being heated by the Sun every | | | | hotter to the cooler body. We can actually |
| day. Almost 174,000 Terawatts of energy hits | | | | feel this cooling effect at night, but the |
| the Earth. One Terawatt is equal to one | | | | truth is that it is happening all 24 hours. |
| million megawatts! So the Sun is heating the | | | | The Earth is constantly cooling by radiating |
| Earth with 174 billion megawatts of energy! | | | | out its energy into deep space. We don't feel |
| Of this, about 30% is reflected back due to | | | | it during day because the effect of the Sun's |
| the white reflectivity of the Earth which is | | | | radiation is to annul the cooling and go on |
| known in science as the albedo effect. So the | | | | further to warm the Earth. Over the millions |
| net energy absorbed by the Earth is 122 | | | | of years the Earth has achieved a balance of |
| Terawatts. | | | | its temperature equating the heating by the |
| | | | Sun and the cooling at night. |
| If so much energy is being absorbed by the | | | | |
| Earth, it should continue to heat up and its | | | | The sea has a vast reserve of water which is |
| temperature must continue to rise constantly. | | | | capable of absorbing the heat of the Sun |
| Within days the temp should surpass the | | | | without change in its temperature. Sun's |
| maximum that any life could bear. All life | | | | radiation penetrates a long distance down in |
| would die and the trees whither and char. | | | | the water and the heat is absorbed into a |
| | | | very big mass of water. In places where there |
| But this does not happen. The Earth has its | | | | are algae or plankton as a mixed layer, its |
| own temperature stability. Why? Because, at | | | | depth makes some difference. Observations of |
| night the Earth radiates the heat absorbed | | | | sea surface temperature (SST) where there was |
| during the day into deep space. Of the 122 TW | | | | ocean mixed layer (OML) at 5 feet below |
| that the Earth absorbs from the Sun, it | | | | surface showed a day night temperature |
| radiates 121TW back into deep space and the | | | | difference of 1.5 degrees centigrade. But |
| difference is converted into work for moving | | | | when the OML was 50 feet deep, the |
| the air, the clouds and the sea currents and | | | | temperature difference was only just 0.1 |
| tides. Radiation always takes place between | | | | degree! |
| two bodies, the heat going out from the | | | | |