Re: [Phys-l] Bad physics in National park

[Brian Whatcott <betwys1@sbcglobal.net>]

LaMontagne, Bob wrote:
> Maybe I missed the point, but it really doesn't matter if the air is exposed to the sun or not. Air is basically transparent to sunlight so its temperature is really set by its interaction with the ground (conduction - convection). The temperature in the shade is usually a pretty good indicator of air temperature. In fact, reporting stations have thermometers placed in louvered boxes to prevent direct sunlight from striking the thermometer while providing a relatively free flow of air. The sunlight striking your body, of course, makes it feel hotter.
>
> Bob at PC
>   
One could say I suppose, that the Sun offers the prospect of both 
convective and radiative heating.     A person in sunlight is subject to 
both; a person in the shade is subject to convection. The former leads 
to a hotter outcome.
Snakes and reptiles in hot deserts face a third mode, when they burrow 
in sand to avoid radiation. They are acting on the basis that conductive 
heating is preferable to
the other two modes.

Brian W