Explaining Q3 After TED Link: 65 Characters

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around understanding the explanation provided in a TED video related to a specific question (Q3) that participants found challenging. The focus is on misconceptions related to the angle of incidence of sunlight and its effect on energy received by the Earth, particularly in different seasons and geographical locations.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses confusion about the explanation for Q3 from the TED video and seeks clarification.
  • Another participant emphasizes the importance of the angle of incidence, noting that as the sun's position changes, the energy received by the Earth varies, particularly highlighting the differences between summer and winter.
  • The same participant mentions that in extreme cases, such as the Arctic in winter, sunlight strikes the Earth at very shallow angles, affecting energy reception.
  • There is a suggestion to consolidate discussions by moving the video link to an existing TED thread, indicating a desire for organization within the forum.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the explanation for Q3, as one participant seeks clarification while another provides a perspective on the angle of incidence and its implications.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes assumptions about the relationship between the angle of incidence and energy reception, but these assumptions are not fully explored or agreed upon by all participants.

WiFO215
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After the link to TED was posted a few threads below, I began to browse through the videos and I found this one which I liked a lot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hJCxSiH4ts&feature=channel_page

I got questions 1 and 2 right. But the 3rd and 4th questions wrong and along the lines of the misconceptions he was referring to. I understood 4 myself but his explanation for 3 was a bit brief and I'm not sure I got it. Could someone explain the answer to Q3?
 
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Why don't you just put this video in the TED thread?
 
It is the angle of incidence that make the difference. As the sun gets lower in the sky, the angle of incidence is smaller, so the total energy received is smaller than in the summer when the sun is nearly directly overhead. Note that in the arctic, in the winter, the most extreme example of winter, the suns rays are striking the Earth at almost glancing angles.

The total energy received over a fixed interval goes as the dot product of the vector representing the sun's rays, and the area vector of the Earth's surface, at any point.
 
Last edited:
Cyrus said:
Why don't you just put this video in the TED thread?

Alright. I shall do that.

EDIT: I have done so. The mods can delete this thread now.
 

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