Table of Contents
Why do greenhouse gases resonate at IR frequencies?
The infrared radiation strikes a molecule such as carbon dioxide and causes the bonds to bend and vibrate – this is called the absorption of IR energy. The molecule gains kinetic energy by this absorption of IR radiation.
Does water vapor absorb infrared radiation?
Water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and other trace gases in Earth’s atmosphere absorb the longer wavelengths of outgoing infrared radiation from Earth’s surface. These gases then emit the infrared radiation in all directions, both outward toward space and downward toward Earth.
Does water affect IR spectrum?
Presence of water in sample significantly distort IR spectrum of compound. Moreover, KBr and ZnSe optical acessories (prism, beam splitter) used in IR spectrometer are also water sensitive, it can permanently damage them.
Why is water a greenhouse gas and oxygen not?
Gases are the simplest type of molecule, and they only vibrate in very particular ways. Oxygen and nitrogen are not greenhouse gases, because they are transparent to infrared light. These molecules are invisible because when you stretch one, it doesn’t change the electric field.
Why greenhouse effect is called greenhouse effect?
In short: it is the natural process that warms the Earth’s surface. The process is called the greenhouse effect because the exchange of incoming and outgoing radiation that warms the planet works in a similar way to a greenhouse. Because the air inside the greenhouse naturally stays warmer than the air outside.
How does water absorb infrared radiation?
In liquid water the rotational transitions are effectively quenched, but absorption bands are affected by hydrogen bonding. In crystalline ice the vibrational spectrum is also affected by hydrogen bonding and there are lattice vibrations causing absorption in the far-infrared.