Quick question: Earth and its heat

[AVFan]

Ok, so obviously the Earth gets its heat from the sun on a daily basis. Without the sun, life on Earth would cease to exist.

I'm wondering, though, how long could the Earth go without the Sun's heat before it became uninhabitable for humans?

Yeah, random question, I know. But I've seen stuff via various fanfics about moving the Earth through hyperspace to a different system. With the Earth being in hyperspace, there would be no sun to keep it warm.

Anyways, I'm jw.

[thekillman]

the radiation from subspace would keep it warm for a bit.

anyway, remember that 1 degree cooling worldwide is equal to MASSES of energy. it took millions of years for the earth to cool from a fireball to modern day temperatures, and that's a several thousand degree drop. so yes it's gonna take a while before the earth cools.

[General Jumper One]

8 min

[AVFan]

the radiation from subspace would keep it warm for a bit.

anyway, remember that 1 degree cooling worldwide is equal to MASSES of energy. it took millions of years for the earth to cool from a fireball to modern day temperatures, and that's a several thousand degree drop. so yes it's gonna take a while before the earth cools.

Remember, for those millions of years, Earth had a star beating down on it while keeping it warm.

Between day and night, generally the temperature difference for a temperate area of the globe (such as my Ohio ) is around 15-20 degrees, meaning, without the sun's heat, the temperature goes down that much. If the sun just went out, would it be safe to assume that the same trend would continue? 15-20 degrees cooling every 12 or so hours? Obviously it would depend for different areas- those with cloud cover would last longer, and those without, shorter.

Not counting the radiation from subspace though because we're not sure if that would help, or whether it would be immediately lethal to humans lol.

[thekillman]

if it's 10 degrees per day then the earth would indeed be cold in 1.5-2 days. well, freezing that is. Tropical areas would last longer.

[General Jumper One]

the radiation from subspace would keep it warm for a bit.

The radiation from subspace is about 2 degrees Kelvin, so it won't make a difference.

[guppy338]

also it would depend if you were underground at the time

[thekillman]

The radiation from subspace is about 2 degrees Kelvin, so it won't make a difference.

radiation doesn't have a temperature, and how would you know that?

[General Jumper One]

radiation doesn't have a temperature, and how would you know that?

Because I happen to be in Earth Science which is the study of Earth and of the Universe around it. Geology, Oceanography, Meteorology, Astronomy, and Environmental Science. My Earth Science book, my Teacher, and this say so.

[thekillman]

cosmic background radiation and hyperspace radiation are two very different things. since it can damage hives easily it's stronger than mere background radiation

[K^2]

I'm wondering, though, how long could the Earth go without the Sun's heat before it became uninhabitable for humans?

It would be a matter of few weeks. You'd feel a huge difference within days, but you'd still be able to manage to survive by staying indoors and using whatever means of heating you've got. But it won't last long.

I see you are from Ohio, same as myself. At 40°N, that puts angle with the Sun at 16.5° from vertical at Noon in the summer, and 63.5° from vertical in the winter. So in the winter, we get about 46% of Sun's heat compared to the Summer. I don't have to tell you what it gives you in terms of the weather changes. This is half a year of Sun's power being gradually dialed down to 46%. You are asking what happens if it instantly goes to zero, and I hope you can now imagine it.

The reason for all this is that Earth's surface is mostly rock and sand. That stuff has very poor thermal conductivity and relatively low heat capacity. So while Earth stays relatively warm on the inside, on the outside it will cool very fast. Anyone who has ever been to a desert knows exactly how fast it can happen. The only reason why entire Earth won't freeze overnight is because of water.

Now water has very high heat capacity and pretty good thermal conductivity. So that will keep a lot of places going for several weeks. Perhaps months at the ocean shore. But once that water starts to freeze, it will all be very fast from there. Ice won't conduct heat nearly as well, and it doesn't store it as well either. It's not as bad as rock and sand, but it won't be making as huge a difference as water does. Not even close. So once you start seeing the large bodies of water freezing at wherever you are, the end is near.

[Alx]

cosmic background radiation and hyperspace radiation are two very different things. since it can damage hives easily it's stronger than mere background radiation

once again you mix FICTION with reality.

[General Jumper One]

once again you mix FICTION with reality.

Yes he did. Hyperspace radiation doesn't exist.

[thekillman]

what do you mean? in hyperspace there is radiation, otherwise Hives do not have to drop out for regeneration.


once again, ALX, you overreact

[Alx]

Overreact? for stating that you dont know the difference between reality and fiction?