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Chapter 16: Problem 10

After a calm, cold night, the temperature a few feet above ground often drops just as the Sun comes up. Explain in terms of convection.

Short Answer

Expert verified
The temperature drops just as the sun comes up because the ground quickly warms up, heating the air directly above it. This air rises and colder air from a few feet above replaces it, creating a temporary drop in temperature due to convection.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding Convection

Convection involves the transport of heat through fluid or gas. It happens when parts of a fluid get heated, they become less dense, and rise. This creates room for colder, denser fluid or gas to fill in, which then get heated and the cycle repeats. This causes heat to move from one location to another.
02

Early Morning Conditions

During the night, the air near the ground cools down. This cool air is dense and tends to remain close to the ground. The air a few feet above the ground doesn't lose temperature as fast and is therefore slightly warmer.
03

Sun Rising & Convection

As the sun begins to rise, the ground starts to warm up due to solar radiation. This warms the cool, dense air directly above the ground. As mentioned in Step 1, the warm air then rises as it becomes less dense than its surrounding cooler air. This initiates the process of convection.
04

Effect of Convection on Temperature near the Ground

During the rise of the warm air, it leaves room for the cooler air from few feet above the ground to move down to replace it. As this cooler air descends, the temperature feels like it drops a few feet above the ground, though the overall heat in the system is starting to increase with the rise of the Sun.

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