Greenhouse effect, chemistry aspects and effect on human society

Essay by twigster16High School, 12th gradeA, May 2005

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When the word Greenhouse is mentioned, what is the image that comes to mind? For some, a garden greenhouse full of striving plants, while others relate the word with the natural of the process that occurs in the earths atmosphere known as "The Greenhouse Effect". The greenhouse effect, provides the inhabitants of this planet with a comfortable environment by aiding in heating the Earth's surface and atmosphere, it is a key element to life on Earth, without it the Earth would be far too cold for most life to continue living. Although the process is complicated, its principle is not hard to understand.

It works as follows; -

Earths atmosphere acts like a greenhouse, warming our planet just like an ordinary greenhouse in the garden warms the air inside its glass walls. Instead of glass, the gases in the atmosphere let in solar energy in the form of short-wave, infra-red radiation, yet prevents the re-radiated long-wave radiation out.

This report will strive to explain in a little more detail the specifics of "The greenhouse Effect" and outline issues occurring as a result.

This illustration shows how the glass in a normal Greenhouse acts in much the same way as gases in the air.

The Earth's atmosphere, defined as a blanket of gases enveloping the planet held by the gravitational force of the earth, stretches for 560 kilometres from the surface of Earth and like the planet itself, consists of several different layers. Without the atmosphere, the greenhouse gas

The lowest level of the atmosphere - the troposphere- is approximately 14.5 kilometres high from the surface of the earth. Within this layer of our atmosphere, undergo many chemical and physical changes, many of which help determine and is responsible for Earths weather and temperature.

Within the troposphere layer, the important...