![]() As the matter’s atoms move and vibrate they give off, or “radiate”, electromagnetic energy – this is called “thermal radiation”.Įlectromagnetic energy comes in a range, or spectrum, of types - some of these we can see: they make up the rainbow of “visible light”. Hot bodies of matter such as the sun – and even our own human bodies – give off heat. The hot atoms will then bump into colder atoms, sharing their heat through conduction, until the bath becomes an even temperature.īut because space is a vacuum, there are no liquids or gases to convect heat away from the sun, all the way to Earth. If you’ve ever been in a bath that has started to go cold, and then turn the hot tap on, you’ll feel the hot water convect from the tap further into the bath. Atoms will flow away from hot regions toward cooler regions, carrying their heat and energy with them. ConvectionĬonvection is the transfer of heat through the flow of fluids. ![]() For example, if you hold a metal spoon in a mug of hot tea, heat will be transferred from the tea to the spoon, and then from the spoon to your hand.īut we’re not touching the sun (and that’s a good thing too - its surface temperature is over 5,000☌!) and space is a vacuum so there isn’t anything to act as a spoon and conduct the heat. Heat can also be conducted in more than one step. Other materials, such as glass, are poor conductors, and are called insulators. ![]() Some materials, such as metals, are good conductors. If you touch something cold, heat goes from you to it. If you touch something warm, heat goes from it to you. ConductionĬonduction is what scientists call the transfer of heat through touching. Let’s think about each of these in turn, to discover which one allows heat to travel through space. There are three ways heat can be shared: conduction, convection and radiation. This means it can’t carry much heat in it and so it can’t explain how the warmth from the sun reaches Earth. This is part of what causes the beautiful light display we call the aurora.Ĭurious Kids: what causes the northern lights?īut the solar wind isn’t very dense - it has much, much fewer atoms in it than air, for example. In fact, the sun is constantly blowing matter, known as the solar wind, out into our solar system. Even if we ignore the big stuff like stars, planets and comets, space is not completely empty. It’s true that space is a vacuum, which means that there isn’t much matter floating around out there. If something is cold, its atoms have much less energy and they stay quite still. Not sure where to begin? Click to see all topics in JetStream in the Topic Matrix.If something is hot, it means that its atoms have lots of energy and are bouncing around. Your input will greatly assist others in teaching the "hows" and "whys" of weather. We welcome your feedback on this project. You are free to use the materials in any manner you wish. Interspersed in JetStream are "Learning Lessons" which can be used to enhance the educational experience. The information contained in JetStream is arranged by subject, beginning with global and large-scale weather patterns followed by lessons on air masses, wind patterns, cloud formations, thunderstorms, lightning, hail, damaging winds, tornados, tropical storms, cyclones, and flooding. Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Land Rapid Response Team, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). High resolution version of this NASA image: select link to enlarge image (~2 mb). ![]() As the winds are diverted around the high areas, turbulence is created, and the disturbance in the flow continues downstream in the form of rows of vortices that alternate their direction of rotation. In this case, driving wind rushes past the tall peaks on the rugged Canary Islands. Preparedness and Mitigation: Individuals (You!).Preparedness and Mitigation: Communities.The Positive and Negative Side of Lightning. ![]()
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