| I know how long it takes for light to reach us but
how long does it take for heat to reach earth
from the sun?
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| Question Date: 2007-08-15 |
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Answer 1:
Since the space between the Earth and the Sun
is an essential vacuum, essentially 100% of the
heat from the Sun that the Earth receives is due
to the light. Any portion that is not due to
electromagnetic radiation is immeasurably low. So
we basically receive the Sun's energy at the speed
of light. |
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Answer 2:
Basically Its just the PHOTONS or light that
travels thru space... the heat is a sensation
having to do with ABSORPTION of the photons... so
the heat does not travel per se... The photons are
absorbed when they strike something (your hand)
and this causes electrons to jump up and down and
that makes you feel hot. |
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Answer 3:
Heat is simply infrared "light," and it travels
at the same speed as visible light. It just
happens to be at a wavelength or color that our
eyes can't see. There are also highly
energetic particles from the sun which heat
Earth's upper atmosphere, and those take hours to
weeks to arrive. They are particularly common
during solar flares. But these aren't exactly
heat as such. |
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Answer 4:
All frequencies of light, including light
outside of the visible spectrum, travel at the
same speed.
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