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Solar Power

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Learning about Energy

Part of the book series: Modern Perspectives in Energy ((MPIE))

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Abstract

An observer from a distant star, if asked to describe the energy balance of the earth, would do so almost entirely in terms of sunlight incident, absorbed and reflected, and finally re-radiated to outer space at much longer wavelengths, in the infrared. The major terrestrial energy flows proceed through oceans, atmosphere, and the upper few meters of the continental lithosphere, and much less through the biosphere. All human activity now contributes little but, as shown in the analysis of global CO2 effects, it could potentially upset the reflective and reemissive properties of the earth enough so that the sun itself could drive the earth into a significantly different equilibrium.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

    David J. Rose

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  1. David J. Rose
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© 1986 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Rose, D.J. (1986). Solar Power. In: Learning about Energy. Modern Perspectives in Energy. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-5647-0_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-5647-0_8

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-5649-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-5647-0

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