ABSTRACT
The prime source of the energy injected into our atmosphere is the sun, which is continually shedding part of its mass by radiating waves of electromagnetic energy and high-energy particles into space. This constant emission is important because it represents in the long run almost all the energy available to the earth (except for a small amount emanating from the radioactive decay of earth minerals). The amount of energy received by the earth, assuming for the moment that there is no interference from the atmosphere, is affected by four factors: solar output, the sun-earth distance, the altitude of the sun, and day length.
