Green house effect and Boyle´s law

[xtrasyn]

Doesn´t one nullify the other when you have something like an atmosphere wich is in effect an open container of gas?

[sayonara]

It's sufficiently "not open" - in terms of particles escaping per unit particles accelerating - for there to be a problem, one presumes.

The fact that the atmosphere has any kind of major dynamics is good evidence for that.

[edit]

I think gravity might have something to do with it too. Presumably, pressure will vary with fluctuations in the gravitational field of the Earth, which we might consider to be a kind of volume limiter.

[XeeThot]

Add gravity to your equation and everything will go wrong.

The atmosphere is held in place by earth's gravity or else life would be impossible. The gases can't just fly away, they are enclosed by gravity.

[xtrasyn]

Yes but if the temperature rises so does their volume, and thus their mass drops.

[xtrasyn]

Okay that sounded pretty stupid but I can´t find the term I need in Enlish dammit

[sayonara]

Originally Posted by xtrasyn

Yes but if the temperature rises so does their volume, and thus their mass drops.

Three out of three variables changing at the same time?

Put it this way - within limits, I can make gas in a bottle more energetic without allowing its volume to increase.

[MrL_JaKiri]

Originally Posted by xtrasyn

Yes but if the temperature rises so does their volume, and thus their mass drops.

I think you mean their density. If their temperature rises, their mass actually increases (by a negligable amount).

Look at it in terms of individual particles, escape velocity, and the Boltzmann distribution.

[Structural Integrity]

Originally Posted by xtrasyn

Okay that sounded pretty stupid but I can´t find the term I need in Enlish dammit

"Density".
The density (mass/volume ie: kg/m^3) of the substance (the gass) drops therefore the volume of the atmosphere rises, the distance from the outer edge of the atmosphere to the core of the earth will rise, the effect of gravity is lessened due to the larger distance, gass will escape.

Newtons universal law of gravity proves this:
F = G ((M1 * M2)/R^2)
M1 and M2 are the masses of both bodies, which would be the mass of earth and the mass of the atmosphere.
R^2 is the distance between the centres of both bodies, which would increase as the volume of the atmosphere increases.
Thus, as the volume of the atmosphere expands, the effect of gravity on the atmosphere lessens, and atmosphere will be vented into space.

[xtrasyn]

So the greenhouse effect will be self regulating in the long run?

[sayonara]

The greenhouse effect is more due to the relative composition of the atmosphere than its density, so if it is self-regulating it won't be for the reasons above.

[Structural Integrity]

Originally Posted by sayonara

The greenhouse effect is more due to the relative composition of the atmosphere than its density, so if it is self-regulating it won't be for the reasons above.

This is true: Although atmosphere will be vented as the density of it lessens, the greenhouse effect is caused by the "blanket" in our atmosphere that keeps the warmth in.

However, personally I'm not convinced yet that this greenhouse thing is real. I mean, surely the earths climate is warming up, but I kind of believe it is because of natural causes. I mean there are also global ice-times, so it's logical to assume there are also global tropical-times. No?

[sayonara]

Well sure, but whether it's man-made or natural doesn't really matter to the mechanics of it all.

[Structural Integrity]

Originally Posted by sayonara

Well sure, but whether it's man-made or natural doesn't really matter to the mechanics of it all.

Yeah, well, OK... I agree, I don't think I'd care a whole lot who/what caused it if I need to paddle to work in rubber dinghy every day.

But what causes an ice-age? I thought it had to do something with the currents of the seas/oceans instead of the atmosphere.

[Summanus]

Originally Posted by Structural Integrity

This is true: Although atmosphere will be vented as the density of it lessens, the greenhouse effect is caused by the "blanket" in our atmosphere that keeps the warmth in.

However, personally I'm not convinced yet that this greenhouse thing is real. I mean, surely the earths climate is warming up, but I kind of believe it is because of natural causes. I mean there are also global ice-times, so it's logical to assume there are also global tropical-times. No?

Because the rate of acceleration is far too great for this to be a simply natural occurrence