Greenhouses and Global Warming

Greenhouses and Global Warming

ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION
The two experiments that were conducted were modeled to show the effects that greenhouse gases have on our atmosphere, one of them being global warming. In the first experiment, the plastic covering Beaker A represents the greenhouse gases or the occurrence of thermal inversion in our atmosphere. As a result (as shown in table 1.1 and graph 1.1) of this closed system and the strong amount of light radiated from the lamp, the temperature inside the beaker increased at a constant rate within the first ten minutes but starts to level off hereafter with a final temperature of 31°C. A lot of condensation also took place in Beaker A, and the beaker, when touched, felt much hotter compared to that of Beaker B. This can be explained by the plastic covering the mouth of the beaker, which creates a closed system, which means that gases are not able to enter and escape out of the beaker and hence all the heat and energy are trapped inside, causing the rise in temperature.
As mentioned before, the plastic represents greenhouse gases that are hovering in our stratosphere. Greenhouse gases are gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, hydrofluorocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons that are contributing to the greenhouse effect and eventually will lead to a rise in global temperatures. In a sense, this simulation shows the process of the greenhouse effect, which is the heating of the Earth (in this case the Earth is the beaker) due to the presence of these greenhouse gases (the plastic cover).   It is named this way because of a similar effect produced by the glass panes of a greenhouse. What happens is that shorter-wavelength solar radiation from the sun (in this case it’s the light radiated from the lamp) passes through Earth's atmosphere, then it is absorbed by the surface of the Earth, causing it to warm.   Part of the absorbed energy is then re-radiated back to the atmosphere as long wave infared radiation. Little of this long wave...