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?

Question

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?

In: 1238

Answer 1

The heat you feel is infrared radiation which does not require a medium to pass through. That energy is coming directly from the sun as the wavelength is too big to interact with air molecules. As soon as it hits something that can absorb that energy, its temperature will increase.