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Solar energy

Life is sustained by the energy from the sun. Without the sun all plants and animals would die. The sun provides 99.98% of the energy, which naturally flows through the surface environment of the earth. Put another way, the sun supplies 5000 times more energy than all other sources combined. This emphasizes the importance of solar energy to us.

Solar energy arrives at the earth at 170 thousand million joules every second!

About 30% of the radiation energy is reflected straight back into space. The icecaps and particles in the atmosphere form good reflectors. It is thought that an increase in the area of ice covering the surface of the earth, or an increase in atmospheric dust might reflect even more radiation back into space and so cause the earth to cool towards another ice age.

About 47% of solar radiation is absorbed and converted into heat energy or internal energy. During the day the earth’s surface is war...

Posted by: Sylvia Schiavoni

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