Research and Development Sphere

What is the Greenhouse Effect?

The greenhouse is the effect that is similar to the action of a greenhouse of course. The purpose of a greenhouse is to maximize all of the light and heat that enters it so that the plants grow well. It works like this: it traps the high frequency radiation from the sun, and converts it to low frequency radiation that cannot escape from the glass of the greenhouse. The high frequency radiation is the same type of radiation that is used for x-rays. The low frequency radio is the same kind that is used for radio and television. The high frequency can easily pass through transparent materials like glass. The low frequency has much more trouble, however.

To better understand why this is, picture a nail and a piece of wood. The wood will represent the glass of the greenhouse, while the nail represents the radiation. Picture a hammer hitting the nail representing the high frequency. Picture picture someone trying to push it in by hand to represent the low frequency. Obviously, the hammer will push the nail in more easily, because it has more energy, just like the high-frequency radiation has more energy than the low frequency radiation. The high-frequency radiation can more easily push through the glass, even though it travels at the same speed as the low-frequency. So, all that can get into the greenhouse is high-frequency radiation.

However, when it travels through the glass, it becomes low frequency, and cannot get back out. So, the heat energy is trapped inside the greenhouse. The same thing happens on Earth. Certain gasses, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and water, all trap the heat of the sun near the Earth. There has been a lot on concern about this lately, because it is causing the earth to get warmer. However, on Mars, this is desirable for terraforming. The scientists are currently trying to make Mars warming, and the greenhouse effect is one way to do this.