Qualitative Considerations on the Influence of the Gases Water Vapor and Carbon Dioxide on the Global Environmental Temperature from the Point of View of Textbook Knowledge

Abstract

The solar radiation that hits the Earth conditions the dynamic equilibrium that prevails on our planet. Consideration of basic physical-chemical knowledge shows that this equilibrium can be changed only by additional energy input or prolongation of the interaction time solar radiation—Earth matter. The contribution of H 2 O(g) and CO 2 to the protection of the earth against excessive warming is experimentally and by basic laws of nature secured. For a greenhouse effect, a part of the earth radiation must be radiated back to the earth and then into space. If one understands the earth radiation as radiation of a black body with the average global environmental temperature, from all vibrations normal modes of the gases H 2 O(g) and CO 2 only the bending mode of CO 2 with 4% of the solar constant can contribute beside the rotational modes of the water to the greenhouse effect. The contributions of the normal modes of H 2 O(g) and CO 2 to the heat capacity of the atmosphere are negligible. Therefore, in agreement with studies by K. Å ngstr ö m, CO 2 contributes only to the stabilization of the global environmental temperature. Whether the use of renewable energies can actually at least mitigate the increase of the environmental temperature is by no means certain but must be examined for each individual case. With certainty, this goal can only be achieved by reducing the energy consumption of mankind.