physic 101: so why does it feel colder up in the mountains when we are closer to the sun

[Savij]

Originally posted by: BD2003

Originally posted by: Savij

Originally posted by: andylawcc

Originally posted by: BD2003

Originally posted by: andylawcc
so does my explaination has any truth to it at all?

Barely. Mountains are ground, and they absorb heat too.

but there are alot more 'ground' on surface level. A mountain is like a needle compare to the .....

well, nevermind, I'm wrong, you're right.


new question

then why is air denser at ground level?

Because denser stuff sinks in less dense stuff.

But it's the same air.

 

[beemercer]

Originally posted by: her209
Because you are closer to God and he is one cold heartless asshole.

Good one .

 

[iamaelephant]

Originally posted by: Jeff7
Bonus information: Venus' hottest temperature is a few hundred degrees hotter than Mercury's - and the dark side of Mercury gets damn cold, as in a few hundred degrees below zero. Venus also happens to have a very thick atmosphere. An atmosphere does have something to do with heat retention.

Venus is bascically a case of extreme greenhouse effect. Us humans could never dream of creating a global warming situation like that of Venus.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: iamaelephant

Originally posted by: Jeff7
Bonus information: Venus' hottest temperature is a few hundred degrees hotter than Mercury's - and the dark side of Mercury gets damn cold, as in a few hundred degrees below zero. Venus also happens to have a very thick atmosphere. An atmosphere does have something to do with heat retention.

Venus is bascically a case of extreme greenhouse effect. Us humans could never dream of creating a global warming situation like that of Venus.

Also, Mercury has almost no atmosphere and a very slow rotation IIRC.

 

[LS20]

answer given above w/ adiabatic cooling

 

[SViper]

Originally posted by: SViper
Gay-Lussac's Law

Temperature and Pressure are directly proportional; meaning as the pressure decreases at higher altitudes, the temperature decreases as well.

I'll quote myself for the answer to your new question. There is more air "stacked" on itself at ground level compared to at higher elevations. Therefore, there is a higher pressure at ground level.

It's the same principle in a fluid. The further down you dive in an ocean, the greater the pressure will be.

 

[skyking]

Originally posted by: andylawcc
the last explaination I got was:

Heat is transferred in 3 ways, conduction, convection, and radiation.
Sun transfer heat through radiation.
Earth absorb most of Sun's Radiation on the ground level (larger surface area).
So when you are up in the mountain, you don't feel as much heat since heat is now transfer from the ground level via conduction and convection back up to mountain level.

correct?


new question

then why is air denser at ground level?

Cow farts.

It is really dense in Iowa.

 

[RapidSnail]

Originally posted by: SViper
Gay-Lussac's Law

Temperature and Pressure are directly proportional; meaning as the pressure decreases at higher altitudes, the temperature decreases as well.

I was going to post the same thing.

:thumbsup:

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: her209
Because you are closer to God and he is one cold heartless asshole.

LOL , don't let HIM hear you say that.....

 

[OrganizedChaos]

lower pressure should mean that your sweat evaporates faster.

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy
higher altitude=less dense atmosphere
dense atmosphere=retains heat

doing ding ding winnar!

 

[JesusChrist]

Originally posted by: chrisms

Originally posted by: her209
Because you are closer to God and he is one cold heartless asshole.

Bitter much?

Actually, I can vouch for her209's statement.

 

[mercanucaribe]

Because you're further from the main ground surface, which is what absorbs and re-radiates/conducts most of the heat to the air. Being closer to the sun is inconsequential considering how far the planet is from the sun.

 

[pray4mojo]

PV=nRT

 

[Dirigible]

Originally posted by: JesusChrist

Originally posted by: chrisms

Originally posted by: her209
Because you are closer to God and he is one cold heartless asshole.

Bitter much?

Actually, I can vouch for her209's statement.

Aaah, you're just doing the "son rebelling against the dad" thing. When you coming by for a visit? Haven't seen you for a while. We'll have some beers.

 

[SirStev0]

p/t = p/t

com'mon kid. Thats basic stuff.

(ohh yeah ... p(sealevel)>p(high alt)

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

Originally posted by: iamaelephant
Venus is bascically a case of extreme greenhouse effect. Us humans could never dream of creating a global warming situation like that of Venus.

That's what you think!

/me switches on everything

Eat my carbon emissions, Mother Earth! :|

 

[Hyperion042]

EDIT: Had stuff backwards at first

Right, so Guy-Lussac's law has little to do with this, I was misinterpreting it. As you heat air, it rises due to the differential density of the atmosphere (due to gravity pulling it tighter lower and looser higher). If this were the only effect, it would be hotter higher up than lower down. However, what we notice is the exact opposite - Hence, GL's law is not the whole story.

IANAC, but I suspect that what happens is that it's exactly as the OP said - sun heats earth, earth radiates heat back out, warming air which rises as a result. This is why it typically doesn't get SUPER hot or SUPER cold anywhere on the earth's surface, and also explains why mountains are cold - as air rises, it has more volume to fill (larger sphere = larger volume), so it disperses and cools, even though the mountain is radiating heat.

 

[NaOH]

Originally posted by: her209
Because you are closer to God and he is one cold heartless asshole.

QFT

 

[zerocool1]

air at ground level is more dense because of gravity. it pulls the heavier particles down with it i.e. moisture and dust.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: SViper
Gay-Lussac's Law

Temperature and Pressure are directly proportional; meaning as the pressure decreases at higher altitudes, the temperature decreases as well.

That's a misapplication of the equation. Temperature and pressure are proportional in that if you change one on a given volume of gas, the other changes proportionally...but that does NOT mean that all low-pressure air is cold, and all high-pressure air is hot.

The reason why it's colder in the mountains is mostly because your surroundings are colder...the ground and the air above you is cold, which means you lose a lot of heat due to radiative transfer, and the air is thin enough that even if it were warm (which it usually isn't), you don't gain a lot of heat via conduction. An easy way to demonstrate this is that at high elevation, there's a huge difference between the temperature in the shade and in the sun, even at spots right next to each other. You're radiating away the same amount of heat in both places (which is a lot), but when the sun's on you it's being replaced.

Originally posted by: zerocool1
air at ground level is more dense because of gravity. it pulls the heavier particles down with it i.e. moisture and dust.

It has nothing to do with the heavier particles. Air is denser at ground level simply because it's a compressible substance, and the weight of all the air above it does the compressing.

 

[Zorba]

Originally posted by: andylawcc
new question

then why is air denser at ground level?

Hydrostatics