Greenhouse and global Warming Effect

The greenhouse and global warming effect refers to circumstances where the short wavelengths of visible light from the sun pass through a transparent medium and are absorbed, but the longer wavelengths of the infrared re-radiation from the heated objects are unable to pass through that medium. The trapping of the long wavelength radiation leads to more heating and a higher resultant temperature. Besides the heating of an automobile by sunlight through the windshield and the namesake example of heating the greenhouse and global warming by sunlight passing through sealed, transparent windows, the greenhouse and global warming effect has been widely used to describe the trapping of excess heat by the rising concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The carbon dioxide strongly absorbs infrared and does not allow as much of it to escape into space. A major part of the efficiency of the heating of an actual greenhouse and global warming is the trapping of the air so that the energy is not lost by convection. Keeping the hot air from escaping out the top is part of the practical "greenhouse and global warming effect", but it is common usage to refer to the infrared trapping as the "greenhouse and global warming effect" in atmospheric applications where the air trapping is not applicable.