How Sunlight Travels Through Space Unlike sound, which requires a medium like air or water to propagate, solar energy travels through the vacuum of space via electromagnetic waves. By the time this wavefront reaches Earth, it has spread across a vast area, which is why the solar constant—the amount of solar energy received per unit area at the top of the atmosphere—is roughly 1,361 watts per square meter.
Photon Absorption Reflection Transmission: How Sunlight Moves Through Space and Matter
High-energy ultraviolet (UV) radiation, for instance, is largely absorbed by ozone in the stratosphere, protecting life on the surface from its harmful effects. This increase in molecular motion is what we measure as a rise in temperature.
The photons move outward in all directions, forming an expanding sphere of energy. By the time the energy reaches the sun’s visible surface, or photosphere, it has transformed into visible light and infrared radiation.
Photon Absorption Reflection and Transmission of Solar Energy
Absorption occurs when the material’s atoms absorb the photon’s energy, causing molecules to vibrate more rapidly. This differential heating is a primary driver of atmospheric convection, leading to wind and weather patterns.
More About How is energy from the sun transferred
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