Try it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
Sunlight at Mars has a power of W for each square metre, and Mars reflects of it. Take Mars to have no greenhouse effect, so the heat it radiates balances the sunlight it takes in over its whole surface: . Use and m K. Find:
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. The power taken in. .
Step 2. The temperature. We want , so .
Step 3. The peak wavelength. , in the infrared.
Step 4. The factor. .
Answer: W/m²; K; ; .
Check. The measured average temperature of Mars is close to this number, because its thin air of carbon dioxide gives little greenhouse effect. On the Earth the same calculation gives K, about K below the real K.
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Ultraviolet photons can break chemical bonds of a few eV. The Earth's temperature without a greenhouse effect follows from . The ionosphere returns a vertical wave below , and an oblique wave below . A tower of height sees to the horizon at .