When we turn our face towards the sun on a day with clear skies: Is the heat we feel on our skin actual heat radiation from the surface of the sun or do we just feel the warmth of the molecules in our atmosphere which have been “warmed” by radiation from the upper atmosphere?
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The sun’s radiation that comes in contact with us is infrared, visible light and uv. any shorter wavelengths either don’t make it or are blocked by the ozone layer.
the infrared that comes into contact with neural receptors in the skin is what causes the feeling of warmth. Infrared waves are a byproduct of heat, so they are it’s indicator as well.
you know how when you heat metal it gets to a point where it starts glowing ? that’s the heat of the metal reaching a point where the electromagnetic wavelength that’s released gets shorter, going from infrared to visible light.
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