Without the sun there?d be no sunbathing on Florida?s beaches and the sunscreen industry would face ?dark? times as well, but more importantly, the sun is our primary energy source and the origin of life on earth. The sun is a celestial body with an average temperature of ~6000 degrees C. Every body sends out radiation according to its temperature and since the sun is such a hot body with so much mass it sends out a lot of radiation, which we call solar radiation.
Solar radiation is a governing parameter in all different scientific aspects. Solar energy along with other ingredients delivers the energy that biological organisms use to grow.
Nuclear fusion powers the sun which emits thermal radiation. Solar radiation
is the sun's radiant, electromagnetic energy. Radiation in the visible, short-
wave portion of the electromagnetic spectrum contains about half of the total
radiation, and the near-infrared portion constitutes the other half.
The solar constant is the mean energy density of solar radiation in a plane
perpendicular to the sun's rays just above the Earth's atmosphere. It has a
value of about 1367 W/mē that fluctuates daily by a few parts per thousand.
The amount received at the surface depends on atmospheric factors and the
latitude. Solar radiation is measured with a pyranometer.
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