Difference between revisions of "Greenhouse gas"
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Revision as of 16:32, April 16, 2008
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with [[::greenhouse effect|greenhouse effect]]. (Discuss)
A greenhouse gas is any gas which contributes to the greenhouse effect.
The most important greenhouse gas is water vapor. [1] Also important are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone.[2]
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.
References
- ↑ Water vapor has the largest greenhouse effect. (NASA)
- ↑ http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/content/emissions.html