Understanding the Earth's Atmosphere and Temperature Regulation

The Earth and Moon are approximately at the same distance from the Sun, but the Moon's surface temperature ranges from -18°C to 170°C, making it uninhabitable, while the Earth's surface temperature remains relatively stable.

The extreme temperature fluctuations on the Moon are due to its lack of atmosphere, whereas the Earth's atmosphere protects it from these temperature extremes.

The atmosphere acts as a shield during the day, blocking most of the harmful and high-energy radiation from the Sun, and absorbing about one-third of the visible light.

At the same time, the atmosphere traps the infrared radiation, or heat, emanating from the Earth's surface, which would otherwise escape into space.

For the atmosphere to absorb any type of radiation, it needs to have some electrically charged particles to interact with the electromagnetic waves and push them around.

Most of the atmospheric gases, such as nitrogen and oxygen, are electrically balanced, with an equal number of positive protons and negative electrons, making them unable to absorb infrared radiation.

However, some gases, such as water, ozone, and nitrous oxide, are electrically unbalanced, which allows them to absorb infrared radiation.

Other gases, like carbon dioxide and methane, appear to be electrically balanced, but they are not stationary and collide with each other billions of times per second, causing them to vibrate and rotate in different directions, making them capable of absorbing infrared radiation.

Despite most of the atmospheric gases being unable to absorb infrared radiation, the 1% of unbalanced gases are highly effective in absorbing infrared radiation, capable of stopping 90% of the heat from escaping.

The absorbed radiation is bounced around the atmosphere, often returning to the Earth's surface at least once before escaping into space.

The importance of the radiation shield is evident in the ice core records from the coldest regions on Earth, which show that even small natural fluctuations in carbon dioxide levels can make a significant difference in temperature.

Compared to the past 800,000 years, the radiation shield has become more challenging.