Greenhouse Effect Basics: Warm Earth, Cold Atmosphere Posted on
29 February 2012 by Tom Curtis Heating and Heat Flow Some
physics, everyone knows. In our daily lives we encounter the
effects of physics all the time, and as a result, we know what
physics predicts in those circumstances at a gut level. We may
not be able to put it into numbers. We may not be able to apply
it in novel situations. But we know it all the same. One example
is as simple as putting on a blanket. We know that if we want
warm something up, we can increase the supply of heat - or we
can reduce the escape of heat. Either is effective. If you have
a pot that is simmering and you want to bring it to the boil,
you can turn the heat up, or you can put on the lid. If we put
on the lid, the pot will go nicely from simmering to boiling,
and we don't need to turn up the heat even slightly. Indeed, if
we are not careful to turn down the heat, the pot may well boil
over. Likewise, if you have two identical motors running with an
identical load and