Heat and its Effects

Heat Transfer Mechanisms:

Radiation

Part 4 (c)
 Heat Transfer through Radiation

https://www.uib.no/en/hms-portalen/75292/electromagnetic-spectrum
 ‘Seeing’ in Infrared
All warm-blooded animals give out infrared
radiation and this can be detected by some
animals (eg snakes) in the same way that our
eyes detect visible light.

The detection of infrared radiation from

parts of the human body can be used for
diagnostic purposes in medicine. thermogram

Law enforcement and the military use thermal

imaging scopes to ‘see’ and track people at night,
or identify buildings where dagga is grown.

https://www.nature.com/news/2010/100314/full/news.2010.122.html
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2120626/House-hiding-cannabis-factory-captured-
helicopter-police-thermal-imaging-camera.html
 British police use thermal imaging to
reveal illegal party of 200 people defying
coronavirus restrictions (19 August 2020)

https://www.foxnews.com/world/british-police-
thermal-imaging-illegal-party-coronavirus

Some materials that are opaque to visible light can transmit infrared
radiation, allowing us to see through them.
 Factors effecting Radiation

Kelvin
Rate of Q temperature
heat flow = ϵ � σ � A � T4
(power) ∆t Doubling the
temperature
increases the
Emissivity power by a
factor of 16!
Characteristic of
the surface of the
material
Value between 0-1 Surface area
0 = shiny metals
1 = very black Stefan-Boltzmann constant
(charcoal) σ = 5.67 x 10-8 W.m-2.K-4
 Factors effecting Radiation

𝛜𝛜 ≈ 𝟎𝟎
Shiny & light coloured surfaces
• give out very little radiation
• reflect most of the radiation
falling on them and absorb
very little.
𝛜𝛜 ≈ 𝟏𝟏
Very black or dark, dull surfaces
• give out lots of radiation
• absorb almost all of the
radiation falling on them and
reflect very little.

Good emitters of radiation are also good absorbers

 The Sun’s Radiation & Earth
Infrared radiation travels at
the speed of light and does
NOT require matter…it can
travel through a vacuum.

The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager

(EUI) on ESA’s Solar Orbiter
spacecraft took these images
on 30 May 2020. It was
positioned about halfway
between the Earth & Sun at the
time.

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Solar_Orbiter/Solar_Orbiter_s
_first_views_of_the_Sun_image_gallery
1350 W.m-2
solar
constant

1000 W.m-2
 Why do we experience Seasons?

Summer in the Summer in the

southern hemisphere northern hemisphere

• Each season occurs during a specific part of the Earth’s orbit

but NOT because of the distance of Earth from the Sun.
• Seasons result because of the tilt of the Earth’s axis.
• Seasons are not experienced in all parts of the world.
• Seasonal differences become more pronounced as you move
further from the Equator.
 Reasons for the Seasons 1
The Earth takes exactly 24 hours to rotate relative to the Sun (synodic
period) which is the length of a day on Earth.
N North pole experiences 24 hours of night in Winter
23.5°

Day The proportion of the Earth’s

time surface in each hemisphere
on the experiencing daylight is different.
side
facing The number of daylight hours
the changes with the seasons.
Sun. …days are longer in Summer
…days are shorter in Winter

Night time S Equator experiences about 12 hours of

on the daylight all year around.
side facing
away from South pole experiences 24 hours of daylight in
the Sun. Summer
Reasons for the Seasons 2

WINTER…
Sunlight hits at a oblique
angle.
Heat is spread out over a
larger surface, so it is less
intense and temperatures
are lower.

SUMMER…
Sunlight hits more
directly.
Heat is spread out over
a smaller surface, so it
is more intense and
temperatures are higher.