Billy_Bob
Diamond Member
Diffuse means its focal point is angle of incidence dependent. Power is lost as the angle of deflection increases.. Your AGW models do not deal with this just as you dont understand how this changes the energy balance of the earth.So 3 people here -- SSDD, Billy and jc -- are now all actually babbling that direct sunlight doesn't always come from the direction of the sun, and is instead "diffuse".
Yeah... However, I have to admit I was surprised to discover how many concepts of "diffuse" there are (and that may not be the end of it).
Sunlight is in fact diffuse in that the sun (thankfully) isn't a laser; it radiates into all directions, and not in one concentrated beam.
Sunlight is further diffuse in that the energy radiated out is dispersed over a wide spectrum of wave lengths.
Sunlight is further diffuse in that the energy transmitted is spread over wide areas, not "concentrated" - as it is, say, in fossil fuels, which makes harvesting and using the sun's energy more of a challenge than is using FFs.
Sunlight is further - in part - diffuse in that it is scattered when traveling through atmosphere, which is why - unlike the situation on the moon - our shadows aren't pitch black. Luckily, most of the sunlight arriving on the ground is not diffuse and it arrives within a very narrow bandwidth of directions, which is why it can be collected and focused.
So, reviewing the above-mentioned worthies' misunderstanding, I actually learned something today.
Do you have a Cliff Clavin app on your phone, or do you think up that nonsensical bafflegab by yourself?
I believe a Qwark is refracted light (Photon). When I measure optical power of a laser, the power is significantly greater at a 90 deg Angle than it is at a refracted 60 deg angle. Using this basic physical observation much can be learned about how light (photons) responds in our atmosphere.
Photons which strike objects (other molecules) at greater than right angles loose massive amounts of power, over 60% of their power. While molecules are emitting photons in all directions their effect is over rated by greater than 60% due to the diffuse patterns and angels. Then when we determine what is actually returning to earth and not back to the atmosphere we decrease the amount of power again by 80% of the 60% leaving virtually no net power gain . (3-7% of what is radiating out ward is re-emitted earth ward) Water refraction and dust pretty much make this number zero.
This is a very simplified flow but you should be able to get the drift.
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