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greenhouse effect

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Phenomenon in which solar radiation absorbed by a planet is re-emitted from the surface as long-wave infrared radiation that is prevented from escaping by various gases in the atmosphere. These greenhouse gases trap heat because they readily absorb long-wave infrared radiation. As the energy cannot escape, it makes the planet warmer than it would otherwise be. The process is progressive and the heating effects rise with the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The most well-known greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide . On the planet Venus, which is blanketed with a dense atmosphere of almost pure carbon dioxide, the greenhouse effect creates an average surface temperature of over 460°C/860°F. In comparison the Earth, which has an atmospheric content of only 0.0398% carbon dioxide, has an average temperature of around 14°C/57°F. The Earth's more moderate greenhouse effect makes life on our planet possible. However, increases in greenhouse gases due to human activity are…
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Full text Article greenhouse effect

From Astronomy Encyclopedia
greenhouse effect Short-wave radiation from the...
Phenomenon whereby the surface of a planet is heated by the trapping of infrared radiation by the ATMOSPHERE . This mechanism is important in the atmospheres of the Earth, Venus and Titan. On Earth, the most important greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide and water vapour, with significant…
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Full text Article greenhouse effect

From Collins Dictionary of Astronomy
A phenomenon in which a rise in temperature is caused because incoming radiation at certain wavelengths can pass through a barrier, be absorbed, and then re-emitted as radiation at longer wavelengths, which is absorbed by the barrier. In a glass greenhouse, solar radiation in the form of visible and…
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Full text Article greenhouse effect

From Penguin Dictionary of Biology
Effect in which short wavelength solar radiation entering the Earth's atmosphere is re-radiated from the Earth's surface in longer infrared wavelengths, and then reabsorbed by components of the atmosphere to become an important factor in heating the total atmosphere. Effect resembles heat reflection…
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Full text Article greenhouse effect

From Dictionary of Microbiology & Molecular Biology
The warming of the planet due to rising levels of CO 2 , methane and certain other gases (which effectively ‘trap’ some of the radiant energy reaching the Earth’s surface). In the CARBON CYCLE , large amounts of CO 2 are produced by animals, plants and microbes during respiration or fermentation, …
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Full text Article greenhouse effect

From The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Houghton Mifflin
A term used to describe the heating of the atmosphere owing to the presence of carbon dioxide and other gas es. Without the presence of these gases, heat from the sun would return to space in the form of infrared radiation . Carbon dioxide and other gases absorb some of this radiation and prevent…
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The greenhouse effect is caused by short‐wavelength radiation striking Earth's surface and being converted to heat, which has a longer wavelength. Greenhouse gases absorb this longer wavelength radiation, preventing it being reflected back into space. As such they act in the manner of a greenhouse, …
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Full text Article greenhouse effect

From Philip's Encyclopedia
Raised temperature at a planet's surface as a result of heat energy being trapped by gases in the atmosphere . As the Sun's rays pass through the atmosphere, some heat is absorbed but most of the short-wave solar energy passes through. This energy is re-emitted from the ground as long-wave…
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Full text Article greenhouse effect

From The Penguin Dictionary of Physics
A process whereby an environment is heated by the trapping of INFRARED RADIATION . It operates on several bodies in the solar system, including Venus (where it is responsible for the high surface temperature) and to a much lesser but increasing extent on earth. In the case of earth, sunlight is…
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Full text Article greenhouse effect

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Phenomenon in which solar radiation absorbed by a planet is re-emitted from the surface as long-wave infrared radiation that is prevented from escaping by various gases in the atmosphere. These greenhouse gases trap heat because they readily absorb long-wave infrared radiation. As the energy cannot…
| 434 words
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Full text Article greenhouse effect

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Some incoming sunlight is reflected by the...
Warming of the Earth’s surface and lower atmosphere caused by water vapour, carbon dioxide, and other trace gases in the atmosphere. Visible light from the Sun heats the Earth’s surface. Part of this energy is radiated back into the atmosphere in the form of infrared radiation , much of which is…
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