The nature of a greenhouse gas is to pass [[visible light]], i.e., incoming energy from the sun, but to be opaque to the [[infrared]], i.e., heat energy being re-radiated outward from the earth's surface. This functions much like the [[glass]] on a [[man-made]] [[greenhouse]], and serves to trap warmth at the surface and in the lower [[atmosphere]]. | The nature of a greenhouse gas is to pass [[visible light]], i.e., incoming energy from the sun, but to be opaque to the [[infrared]], i.e., heat energy being re-radiated outward from the earth's surface. This functions much like the [[glass]] on a [[man-made]] [[greenhouse]], and serves to trap warmth at the surface and in the lower [[atmosphere]]. |