toobfreak
Tungsten/Glass Member
The atmosphere blocks a full 30% of the direct incoming solar flux with a full 18% of that ABSORBED. HOW is it absorbed? It can only be absorbed as heat energy (converted to IR), thereby raising the energy state of the ensuing matter (raising valence electron energy to a higher level). All those who scoffed at this are hereby busted again as just more climatology asshats with no real understanding of physics.
It may surprise you to learn that, but everyone posting on here (as far as I can see them) knows that.
Those 18% compare to the 77% of sunlight warming the surface PLUS another roughly 100% of back radiation doing the same, how?
Which is why we say, sunlight largely warms the surface, which radiates infrared, which in turn warms up GHGs, which radiates back to warm the surface more (compared to a non-GHG scenario). That doesn't mean the sun doesn't warm the atmosphere directly, just that it's a small part of the overall energy flux.
Then what is the problem? I said the atmosphere converts solar energy to IR, I never said it converted ALL OF IT. I was trying to make a very brief and very concise statement which fairly described the relationship between the Earth-Sun which constituted the overall general concept of greenhouse warming, which is what the OP seemed to be asking for, not write a doctoral on the subject.