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Atms 211 HW 2

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13 views2 pages

Atms 211 HW 2

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priyotoshsingha700
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ATM S 211

Homework 2
Due Tuesday October 23 at 6 pm

Answers must be submitted on the Catalyst survey page.

Problem #1: Blackbody radiation (20 pts)

Imagine a lit candle inside a spherical object (e.g. a pumpkin). The candle emits electromagnetic waves in all
directions in equal amounts from the center of the spherical object. For this question, assume that no elec-
tromagnetic waves are reflected or absorbed when propagating from the candle to the object’s interior shell.
In other words, assume that air is a perfect transmitter. Moreover, assume that the candle is a Blackbody
and that it is the only source of energy for the spherical object.

To lighten the text, let

¦ E be the total electromagnetic energy which includes the energy of all wavelengths.
¦ The interior shell of the spherical object will be referred to as sphere A and its temperature as T A .

(a) Is the E that reaches sphere A (over the whole sphere) either less than, greater than or equal to E emit-
ted by the candle? (2 pts)

(b) What if we consider only a sector of sphere A for instance a circle around the pumpkin’s stem. Is the E
that reaches the sector either less than, greater than or equal to E emitted by the candle? (2 pts)

(c) Is the E per unit area that reaches sphere A either less than, greater than or equal to E per unit area
that reaches a sector of sphere A ? (2 pts)

(d) What if we place the candle inside sphere B : a spherical object with radius twice as big as sphere A’s. Is
the E that reaches sphere B less than, greater than or equal to E that reached the sphere A ? (2 pts)

(e) Is the E per unit area that reaches sphere B less than, greater than or equal to E per unit area that
reached sphere A ? (2 pts)

(f ) The color of the interior shell is white. Then, is the albedo for visible wavelengths equal to 0, equal to 1
or in-between 0 and 1? (2 pts)

(g) True or false. Regardless of the body in question, is the albedo of a body the same for all wavelengths?
(2 pts)

(h) Is T A less than, greater than or equal to the temperature of the candle? Hint: Stefan-Boltzmann.
(2 pts)

(i) Assume that sphere A absorbs all incoming electromagnetic energy in wavelengths longer than the vis-
ible wavelengths. Then, is the wavelength of maximum absorption for sphere A shorter than, longer
than or the same as the wavelength of maximum emission for the candle? (2 pts)

(j) Is the wavelength of maximum emission for sphere A shorter than, longer than or the same as its wave-
length of maximum absorption? (2 pts)
ATM S 211 Homework 2 2

Problem #2: Earth . . . a Blackbody? (2 pts)

(a) In class, we determined that Earth’s surface can be considered a Blackbody because

( i ) A true Blackbody with T = 288 K does not emit much electromagnetic energy in the visible band.
( ii ) The Earth’s surface absorbs all incoming electromagnetic energy, regardless of wavelength.
( iii ) The albedo of the Earth’s surface for the visible light is close enough to 0.
( iv ) The Earth’s surface is a perfect absorber near its Blackbody wavelength of maximum emission (de-
termined by Wien’s law).

Check all correct statements. (2 pts)

Problem #3: Volcanic Winter (8 pts)

From class, the surface temperature, Ts , of a planet can be expressed mathematically as

¸ 1/4
S ¡
·
Ts = Te + ∆TGH
¢
where Te = 1− A , (1)
4σ

Note that Te is the effective temperature which depends on the solar flux, S , and the planetary albedo, A.
The Stefan-Boltzmann constant is σ = 5.67 × 10−8 W m−2 K−4 and ∆TGH is the greenhouse effect.

The present day values for Earth are Ts = 288 K, S = 1367 W m−2 , A = 0.3 and ∆TGH = 33 K.

Large volcanic eruptions are capable of injecting large amounts of material high into the Earth’s atmosphere.
These volcanic particles have a high albedo in the visible band; thus volcanic eruptions can increase the
planetary albedo. About 70,000 years ago, the lake Toba supervolcano, located in Indonesia, erupted and
caused the planetary albedo to increase to 0.35.

(a) Assuming the same S and ∆TGH as in present day climate, compute the change in surface temperature
caused by the eruption with respect to the present day Ts . Report your answers in Kelvin. (2 pts)

(b) What if the volcanic particles were able to reflect outgoing infrared radiation emitted from the Earth’s
surface. Would this either oppose the change in Ts due to the increased albedo, reinforce this change
in Ts or have no effect at all? (2 pts)

(c) Alternatively, what if the volcanic particles were able to absorb outgoing infrared radiation emitted from
the Earth’s surface. Would this either oppose the change in Ts due to the increased albedo, reinforce this
change in Ts or have no effect at all? (2 pts)

(d) Another alternative would have the volcanic particles absorb incoming solar electromagnetic energy
instead of reflecting it. Would this induce cooling, warming or no change with respect to the present
day surface temperature? Hint: temperature decreases with height in the Earth’s atmosphere. (2 pts)

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