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Re: Sunsets



OK if you and Leigh will both settle down and pay attention to the real
issues her (helping me out!) let me see if I understand your explanation.
After reading Frynman and your post for the past hour this is my best
shot. Charged bodies will radiate energy when accelerated. The more they
are accelerated the more the radiate. In fact the radiation is
proportional to the acceleration squared (I am not sure why this
relationship between acceleration and radiation is related in such a
fashion but that is a study for another day). Now the amount that the
charged particles in question will accelerate (and therefore radiate) is
dependent on how quickly they are pushed and pulled. Higher frequency
E.R. pushes and pulls these charged particles back and forth more quickly
and therefore generate more acceleration. Once again the relationship is
one that is proportional to the square, this time of the frequency (again
I need to think some more about why this relationship should be
proportional to the square, another day). When lower frequency (red)
light comes along and is not absorbed it causes charged bodies to
accelerate and therefore radiate energy (probably not in the same
direction as the original ray) at a certain level. When higher frequency
light comes along and is not absorbed it causes these same charged bodies
to accelerate and therefore radiate as well (once again most likely in a
direction other than its original ray), however both the acceleration and
the radiation are at a much higher level than the lower frequency light.

Couldn't have said it better myself. As you point out, the precise
power laws of the relations aren't important if all you're looking for
is qualitative understanding.

Now if both red light and blue light were being transmitted by the sun
carrying equal energies then the red would loose less of its energy to
occulting its neighbor and send more of its energy through the atmosphere
to run my solar calculator. Whereas the blue light looses more of its
energy occulting its neighbor and therefore sends less through for my
calculator. Am I on the right track?

I'm afraid I'm getting a little lost here. What do you mean by
"occulting"? I would say that more of the energy in blue light
is scattered in different directions, while more of the energy
in red light goes straight through the atmosphere without scattering.
Your solar calculator can be powered by both scattered light (if it
is in the shade but with the sky visible) and direct sunlight.

Dan S.