The sun warms up our planet but space is cold. If I lit a candle and stood 20 feet away, I could see the light but not feel the warmth. So, why do we feel warmth from the sun but space isn’t warmed by it?
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Heat transfers in 3 manners: Conductive, Convective, and Radiative. Conduction and Convection both require a medium for the transfer of heat from point A to B. In space, there is no medium for Conduction/Convection. Radiation is the only manner. The Radiative Heat Transfer equation Q t = σ e A T 4 specifies the transfer rate.
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