Is global warming really a physics problem as has been suggested?

Absolutely. Climate is more complex than most systems which would be studied in a high school physics lab or even landing astronauts on the moon, but it is basically a combination of quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, conservation of mass and momentum and IR spectroscopy.

Jim,

I’m not sure that you could define global warming as a physics “problem”. Sure, the cause of global warming is absolutely dictated by the laws of physics but it’s not the physics itself that’s the problem.

An analogy, if you’ve got a bullet travelling toward you, then the motion and properties of that bullet can be defined and equated by physics, in such a scenario it’s not the physics that’s the problem but that a bullet is heading your way at 3000 feet a second. It’s not a particularly good analogy but I hope you get my gist.

If your question were to ask if global warming is consequent to physics then the answer is an emphatic yes. It’s the laws of quantum mechanics that dictate that greenhouse gas molecules will trap and re-radiate heat energy of a particular wavelength. It just so happens that the wavelengths of absorption correspond with that of the outgoing thermal radiation.

Were the heat energy to have a different wavelength then it could pass straight through the atmosphere unimpeded. This is what happens with the incoming heat energy. This solar radiation is emitted from the Sun and because it’s coming from a much hotter medium it has a much shorter wavelength. This type of radiation passes through the atmosphere, it’s only when it’s absorbed and re-radiated from the much cooler Earth, and so has a longer wavelength, that some of it becomes trapped within the atmosphere.

The whole spectra of climate change, global warming and the infinitely wider subject of climatology is firmly entrenched within the realms of physics. There’s a huge range of physical laws, theories, applications etc that all have a role to play.

That depends on what aspect of the global warming issue are you talking about. http://appinsys.com/globalwarming/

Most have some physics involved. Take the actions governments take to "solve" the global warming "problem". Mostly, it is to go nuclear. http://nuclearfissionary.com/2010/05/16/president-...

Are the effects of going nuclear a physics problem? http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2011/07/japanese-consum...

It would seem partially a physics problem.

Edit @Paul's Alias:

Good point. The nuclear aspect of the "solution" is more about alchemy than physics. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alchemy#Nuclear_trans...

However, to understand radiation, and why we should be concerned about it, physics is still part of the picture. http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2011/07/radiation-in-fu...

The other part is largely just following the news. http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2011/07/over-2600-meat-...

Edit @Trevor:

Good point. Physics is also important for the "what is causing it" problem. However, it is also a statistics problem. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S...

<<Is global warming really a physics problem as has been suggested?>>

No, physics is a liberal plot to raise our taxes.

Alchemy is a good solid conservative science. Yet the lamestream media demonstrates a liberal bias by favoring physics over alchemy.

Of course, physics is the most basic science.

other problem is unelected media and it;s propaganda on terrorism but any problems are resolved by elected media and establishing website www.elected media .com at least for media.

how to book helps.

Our climate will always change, as does the universe. Climate is part of all that. The question most ask is: Is man causing the planet to warm? The answer is that all scientific data says NO. Nothing uncommon is occuring now.

need a reference.

it's more a political and economic problem now.

the science is well established.