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> You can radiate heat from the surface of the earth into space via the sky, but you don't lose much energy that way. That's not quite true. Black body radiati
by roflmaostc 3y ago
> You can radiate heat from the surface of the earth into space via the sky, but you don't lose much energy that way.
That's not quite true. Black body radiation is the only reason why earth does not heat up much more. It's the only factor with a negative radiative forcing.
Solar radiation is the only main incoming source of energy, and black body radiation the only outcome with almost the same magnitude (which is huuuuge btw)
- asdfman123 3y agoWhat I mean that building a system to radiate radiate energy into space from the surface of the earth isn't very cost effective, and it's undoubtedly far less expensive than building a system you would launch into space. The actual surface of the earth has the advantage of being able to use the whole surface of the earth. On earth you can use things like fans and evaporative cooling. It's far superior to making huge space radiators, but nothing is free.