3 ms·
The Earth is in radiative balance with space on all but very short timescales. The extra heat, even if it were enough to matter, dissipates quickly.
by mjhay 2y ago
The Earth is in radiative balance with space on all but very short timescales. The extra heat, even if it were enough to matter, dissipates quickly.
- schiffern 2y agoWe're not talking about just a one-time pulse of heat, it would be a constant stream of energy. To maintain the same radiant balance the Earth's surface would need to reach a higher equilibrium temperature. We currently have an energy budget that's 0.1% of insolation (and compounding growth at 2-5% per year), so if SBSP actually scales to its market opportunity then the effect could certainly be large enough to matter.