Terrestrial radiation occurs at night why
Answers
Answer:
Terrestrial Radiation is not only due to the radioactive decay of the materials in and on the Earth but also majorly due to Solar radiation.
Explanation:
The Earth's crust has a limit to the amount of energy it can absorb. This limited as the penetration depth of heat caused due to radiation is limited by the surface area, volume, density and the type of matter( realted to conductivity and retention of heat) in the soil.
So during the day, a particular side of the Earth's crust absprbs this solar radiation and it energy is raised. But when the saturation level is reached the Crust radiates this energy back into space in long waves. This saturation occurs sometime later during the day and can even be delayed if the atmosphere is cloudy. So when the long wave radiation starts it usually lasts through the night.
It is not due to some property but the mere time required to reach an energy saturation and then the required for radiation.
But the atmosphere also has quite a lot of matter which can absorb a lot of this energy which is why this is an important topic in Global Warming.
This is also the reason why a desert can grow exponentially hot during the day and get really cold at night. The sand is known to have a low heat coefficient and hence retains heat for a longer period of time. So the night may not be sufficiently long enough to radiate away all energy and hence energy builds up over time to result in such high temperatures. There are a lot of other factors in play ofcourse. But this is a good analogy.