I never claimed that energy can travel in two directions simultaneously, regardless of vector. Could you cite the post where I made such a claim?
Of course you have made such a claim. You made it in every post in which you suggest that energy from the atmosphere is radiated down to the surface of the earth.
I'm talking about photons. They only travel in one direction, as far as I know, so those heading towards earth contribute to the overall energy/heat on earth. What's "over my head" about that?
What is over your head is the fundamental nature of photons. You are the victim of a foundational misconception of what a photon is. You, like others on this board seem to believe that photons are free agents that go zipping about the universe on thier own and independent of electromagnetism. You could not possibly be further off base.
I have already been over this once with you but will do it again. I am sure you will get nothing from it but someone who reads this without an agenda may pick up something that they didn't know before.
As I have told you already, and provided supporting documentation, photons are not free agents that do their thing independent of electromagnetic forces. I gave you some of these definitions at an earlier date and clearly you didn't grasp their meaning but perhaps repetition will help get the message through to you.
Before I give you the definitions of photon, it is important that you understand what the word quantum means and implies. Quantum is defined as: the smallest quantity of some physical property, such as energy, that a system can possess according to the quantum theory. That means that if a "thing" is defined as the quantum of another thing, the thing that is the quantum is the actual "stuff" that the greater thing is made of.
photon - The quantum of electromagnetic energy, regarded as a discrete particle having zero mass, no electric charge, and an indefinitely long lifetime.
photon - a quantum of electromagnetic radiation
What these definitions are saying konradv is that the EM fields in question, that is the EM field generated by the atmosphere and the EM field generated by the earth are, in fact, made of photons. The photons are not independent of the fields, they are the "stuff" that makes up the fields.
Here are some more definitions:
photon - (Physics) - a quantum of electromagnetic radiation energy, such as light, having both particle and wave behaviour.
photon - (Particle Physics ) - a subatomic particle, having energy and momentum but no mass or electric charge, that is the quantum unit of electromagnetic radiation, including light
photon - a quantum of electromagnetic radiation, usually considered as an elementary particle that is its own antiparticle and that has zero rest mass and charge and a spin of one. Symbol: γ
photon - the fundamental particle or quantum of electromagnetic radiation (radiant energy).
photon - Smallest packet of the electromagnetic force field; messenger particle of the electromagnetic force
photon - The quantum particle of the electromagnetic field
photon - A quantum (or packet) of energy emitted in the form of electromagnetic radiation
photon - A particle that has no rest mass, no electrical charge and whose energy is determined by its electromagnetic wavelength. A photon is considered to be an amount of electromagnetic radiation energy that is proportional to the frequency of that radiation.
photon - The subatomic particle that carries the electromagnetic force and is the quantum of electromagnetic radiation. The photon has a rest mass of zero, but has measurable momentum, exhibits deflection by a gravitational field, and can exert a force. It has no electric charge, has an indefinitely long lifetime, and is its own antiparticle. See Note at electromagnetic radiation
electromagnetic radiation - Energy in the form of transverse magnetic and electric waves. In a vacuum, these waves travel at the speed of light (which is itself a form of electromagnetic radiation). The acceleration of electric charges (such as alternating current in a radio transmitter) gives rise to electromagnetic radiation. Other common examples of electromagnetic radiation are x-rays, microwaves, and radio waves. A single unit, or quantum, of electromagnetic radiation is called a photon
I don't know how much more clear, or simple I can make this for you. Photons are not free agents. They only move in EM fields and they do not move "upstream" of more powerful EM fields than the field they are part of.
When two EM fields are in opposition as with the EM field generated by the atmosphere, and the EM field generated by the earth, the directon of energy flow is determined by the direction of propagation of the field with the greater magnitude. Energy from the weaker fiedl does not flow against the stronger field.
When two fields are in opposition, you must subtract the two and the result tells you in which direction the field is moving. When you subtract the fields, you are, in essence, subtracting photons. The energy represented by the photons is expended in opposing the greater field. The field of greater magnitude is weakened (or reduced in magnitude) by the weaker field but its direction of propagation still determines which direction the energy is flowing and photons can not flow along any vector from the stronger field from the direction of the weaker field. They can not flow against the direction the greater field is propagated from.
The EM field emitted by the earth is of a greater magnitude than the EM field generated by the atmosphere and the field generated by the earth is moving outward in a straight line, at the speed of light along every possible vector. There are no "cracks" in which the weaker field emitted by the atmosphere can reach the earth and energy (read photons) can not move in two directions along a single vector. The EM field emitted by the earth dictates the direction of energy flow on every possible vector from the surface of the earth.
Now, if you artificially cool the surface of the earth, or an instrument, for example, you can get radiation from the atmosphere down to that artificially cooled surface. The cooler surface will radiate an EM field that is weaker than that of the atmosphere and along those vectors, you can get radiation from the atmosphere down to the surface of to your instrument.
Radiometers, for example are artificially cooled to a temperature far below the atmosphere to allow radiation from the atmosphere to radiate down along those vectors to the instrument so as to be able to measure the radiation. Those instruments are not measuring anything that is happening in the real world however because the only reason the energy from the atmosphere reaches them is because they are cooled to a temperature lower than the atmosphere so as to allow the EM field emitted by the atmosphere to "overpower" the EM field emitted by the instrument.
If you believe that something else is happening allowing energy, or photons, or whatever picture you have in your head to reach the surface of the earth from the atmosphere, then describe the physical law that allows it to happen and show me the math to prove it.
Or, once again, simply admit that you really don't know but beleive what someone whom you believe on a purely political basis has told you.