The Physical World

Chapter 3
The Sun
The Sun is an ordinary star, one of billions of billions that exist in the universe.
The Sun, its eight orbiting planets, plus miscellaneous comets, meteors, asteroids, and
other materials (such as space dust) are collectively known as the solar system. This
particular region of the universe is organized and held together by a balance of the
attractive force of gravitation and counteracting influences associated with rotation and
orbiting (these same forces, along with continuing expansion from the initial big bang,
also organize the universe). The age of the solar system (and of Earth) is at least 4.6
billion years.
Planet Earth
● Earth is the third-closest planet to the Sun.
● Earth is a dense planet, as are other so-called terrestrial planets located relatively close to the Sun: Mercury, Venus, and Mars.
● Earth is the only place in the universe that is definitely known to sustain life.
● Earth is a spherical body with a diameter of about 12,740 km. It revolves around the Sun in an elliptical orbit, at an average
distance of about 149 million km, completing an orbit in 365.26 days, or one year.
● Earth also rotates on its axis every 24 hours, or one day. Its single moon has a diameter of about 3,474 km and a mass about 2%
that of Earth. The Moon revolves around Earth in an elliptical orbit at an average distance of about 385,000 km, completed every
27.3 days (the lunar month).
● The sphere of Earth is composed of four layers—the core, mantle, lithosphere, and crust—arranged in concentric layers like an
onion.
○ The massive core has a diameter of about 3,500 km and is composed of hot, molten metals, particularly iron and nickel.
The internal heat of Earth is thought to be generated by the slow, radioactive decay of unstable isotopes of certain elements,
such as uranium.
● The mantle is a less dense region that encloses the core. It is about 2,800 km thick and composed of minerals
in a plastic, semi-liquid state known as magma. The mantle contains relatively light elements, notably silicon,
oxygen, and magnesium, occurring as various mineral compounds. Magma from the upper mantle sometimes
erupts to the surface at mountainous vents known as volcanoes and is usually spewed to the surface as lava,
which cools to form basaltic rock.
● The next layer, the lithosphere, is only about 80 km thick and is made of rigid, relatively light rocks,
especially basaltic, granitic, and sedimentary ones. These rocks contain elements found in the mantle as well
as enriched quantities of aluminum, carbon, calcium, potassium, sodium, sulphur, and other lighter elements.
● The outermost layer is known as the crust. Oceanic crust is relatively thin, averaging 10–15 km, while
continental crust is 20–60 km thick. Earth’s crust has an extremely complex mineralogical composition, in
contrast to the mantle and especially the core, which are thought to be relatively uniform in structure and
constitution. The most abundant elements in the crust are oxygen (45%), silicon (27%), aluminum (8.0%),
iron (5.8%), calcium (5.1%), magnesium (2.8%), sodium (2.3%), potassium (1.7%), titanium (0.86%),
vanadium (0.17%), hydrogen (0.14%), phosphorus (0.10%), and carbon (0.032%).
Geological Dynamics

Throughout its history, Earth has been subject to enormous geological forces that have greatly affected its
mineralogical composition and surface features. The predominant influences are tectonic forces, which are
associated with crustal movements and other processes that cause structural deformation of rocks and
minerals. Geological forces also cause the continents and their underlying plates to slowly move about
Earth’s surface, much like rafts of solid rock riding upon a sea of plastic magma. Mountain ranges are built
where crustal plates collide and push up surface rocks.

Earthquakes and volcanoes are also tectonic phenomena, which influence Earth’s crust and surface with
extremely powerful, sometimes disastrous events. Other massive geological forces include rare,
cataclysmic strikes into our planet by meteorites and extensive glaciation associated with cooling of the
climate. Slower but still pervasive geological forces are erosion (caused by water, wind, and gravity) and
weathering (the fracturing of rocks and dissolution of minerals).
The Hydrosphere

The hydrosphere is the portion of Earth that contains water (H 2O), including in the oceans, atmosphere,
land surface, and underground. The hydrologic cycle (or water cycle) refers to the rates of movement
(fluxes) of water among these various reservoirs (compartments). The hydrologic cycle functions at all
scales, ranging from local to global.
 The Atmosphere
The atmosphere is an envelope of gases that surrounds the Earth and is held in place by the attractive forces of gravity. The density
of the atmospheric mass is much greater close to the surface and decreases rapidly with increasing altitude. The atmosphere
consists of four layers, the boundaries of which are inexact because they may vary over time and space:

1. The troposphere (or lower atmosphere) contains 85-90% of the atmospheric mass and extends from the surface to an
altitude of 8-20 km. It is thinner at high latitudes, and thicker at equatorial latitudes, but also varies seasonally, at any place
being thicker during the summer than in the winter. It is typical for air temperature to decrease with increasing altitude
within the troposphere, and convective air currents (winds) are common. Consequently, the troposphere is sometimes
referred to as the “weather layer.”
2. The stratosphere extends from the troposphere to as high as about 50 km, depending on the season and latitude. Air
temperature varies little with altitude within the stratosphere, and there are few convective air currents.
3. The mesosphere extends beyond the stratosphere to about 75 km.
4. The thermosphere extends to 450 km or more.
Climate and Weather

Climate refers to the prevailing atmospheric conditions of temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind speed
and direction (together, these are wind velocity), insolation (incoming solar radiation), visibility, fog, and
cloud cover in a place or region. Climatic data are usually calculated as statistics (such as averages or
ranges of values), using data obtained from at least several decades of monitoring (the preferred period for
the calculation of “normal” climatic parameters is at least 30 years).

In contrast, weather refers to day-to-day or instantaneous meteorological conditions (the latter is referred to
as “real-time” weather). Because weather is related to short-term conditions, it is much more variable over
time and space than climate. Most aspects of climate are functions of solar insolation and of how this
incoming energy is absorbed, reflected, and re-radiated by the atmosphere, oceans, and terrestrial surfaces.
For the present purpose, it is worthwhile to examine several ecologically important
aspects:

● Give Thanks to the Sun. If it were not for the warming influence of solar radiation, the temperature of the surface and
atmosphere would approach the coldest that is physically possible – this is absolute zero, or -273°C (or 0o on the Kelvin scale).
Although Earth has a limited ability to generate its own heat by the decay of radioactive elements in its core, this is insufficient
to provide much warming at the surface. Therefore, solar energy is critical to maintaining the surface temperature within a
range that organisms can tolerate.
● Atmospheric Reflection and Absorption. Conditions in the atmosphere have a great influence on climatic factors. For instance,
cloud cover and tiny particulates are highly reflective of many visible wavelengths of solar radiation and so have a marked
cooling effect on the lower atmosphere and the surface. In addition, the atmosphere contains trace concentrations of certain
gases that absorb some of the infrared radiation that the planet emits to cool itself of the heat obtained by absorbing solar
radiation. The most important of these so-called “greenhouse gases” are water vapour, carbon dioxide, and methane. This
influence is called the greenhouse effect, and it maintains the surface temperature of Earth at an average of about 15°C, or 33°C
warmer than the -18°C it would be without this moderating effect.
● Night and Day. At any place on the surface, the input of solar radiation is high during the day and low at night. (At night,
the only radiation inputs are from distant stars and from solar radiation reflected by atmospheric particulates and the moon
—these sparse inputs are known as “skylight.”) The daily, 24-hour (diurnal) variations in energy input result in large
changes in weather. However, this effect varies greatly between tropical and polar latitudes. Tropical regions have
approximately equal day and night lengths of about 12 hours each, which do not vary much during the year. In contrast,
polar latitudes are much more seasonal, with almost continuous light during much of the summer, and constant night during
part of the winter. Temperate latitudes are intermediate, with longer day lengths during the summer and shorter ones during
winter.
● Effects of Latitude. Places at tropical latitudes tend to face incoming solar radiation on a relatively perpendicular angle
(closer to 90° at noon). Polar latitudes have a more oblique angle of solar incidence, and temperate latitudes are
intermediate in this regard. The more perpendicular the angle of incidence of solar radiation is, the smaller the surface area
over which the incoming energy is distributed and the more intense the resulting heating. The angle of solar incidence has a
strong influence on the amounts of unit-area solar radiation that are received at various latitudes, and is a major reason
(along with seasonality) why the tropics are warmer than polar regions.
● Seasons. Earth’s axis tilts at a 23.5° angle relative to the incidence of solar radiation. Consequently, during the
planet’s annual revolution around the Sun, there are seasonal differences in energy received between the Northern
and Southern Hemispheres. In the Northern Hemisphere, the angle of incidence is closer to perpendicular from
March 21 to September 22, giving relatively warmer conditions, while the angle is more oblique from September
22 to March 21, resulting in cooler conditions. These seasons are reversed in the Southern Hemisphere. Because
Earth’s orbit is elliptical, climatic seasons are also influenced by the varying distance from the Sun. However, this
effect is relatively small compared with that of the inclination of the axis.
● Aspect. On a local scale, the direction that a slope faces (known as its aspect) has a substantial influence on the
amount of solar radiation received. In the Northern Hemisphere, south-facing, and to a lesser degree west-facing
slopes are relatively warm, while north- and east-facing slopes are cooler. In the Southern Hemisphere, north-
facing slopes are warmer.
● Slope. The degree of slope, or the angle of inclination of the land, also affects the amount of energy received. The
closer the slope approximates a perpendicular angle to incoming solar radiation, the greater is the energy input per
unit of surface area. In the Northern Hemisphere, this effect is greatest on south-facing slopes.
● Soil and Vegetation Cover. Darker surfaces absorb much more solar radiation than do lighter surfaces.
This is the reason why a black asphalt surface gets much hotter during the day than one made of light-
coloured cement. Plant canopies also vary in their absorption and reflection characteristics, depending on
the colour of the foliage and the angle at which it is oriented to incoming solar radiation. Major changes
in the character of vegetation, as occur when forest is converted into agricultural or urban land-use, can
affect local, and sometimes regional, weather and climate.
● Snow and Ice Cover. Because snow and ice are highly reflective of solar radiation, surfaces covered by
those materials absorb relatively little insolation. The melting of snow cover in the springtime exposes a
much more absorptive ground surface, and warming then accelerates.
● Evaporation of Water. Moist surfaces are cooled by the evaporation of water, a process that absorbs
thermal energy. Therefore, the transpiration of water from plant foliage has a cooling effect, similar to the
evaporation of sweat from the body surface of a human.