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lakshmi
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1)what is entropy ?
2)why does the temperature decreases with increase in altitude
2)why does the temperature decreases with increase in altitude
lakshmi said:why does that temperature decrease with height commonly
LURCH said:I don't think he was being rude, he simply re-phrased his question. He asked why temp gets colder at higher altitude, and you answered that it doesn't allways do so, so he asked why does temp usually gets colder at higher altitude, thus making the question more precise.
Lakshmi, if it helps at all, you can think of entropy as the movement of energy from places where there's more to places where there's less. It's the reason a hot cup of coffee cools down in a normal-temperature room, and warms up the room a little bit while doing so. The cup gets cooler, and the room gets warmer, until the two are the same temperature, and then the process stops. Of course, entropy itself never stops, just the flow of heat energy from the cup to the room. The room is still radiating heat out to the rest of the universe.
Keeping in mind that matter is just energy in its "condensed" form, you acn see that this principle applies to absolutely every physical phenomenon. Stars lose mass by converting matter to energy in a fusion reaction, this energy is radiated otu into space, slightly warming the temperature of the space between the stars, while taking energy away from the stars themselves. It's all a moving of energy from where there's a lot to where there's not.
lakshmi said:2)why does the temperature decreases with increase in altitude
Imagine a packet of air which is being swirled around in the atmosphere. We would expect it to always remain at the same pressure as its surroundings, otherwise it would be mechanically unstable. It is also plausible that the packet moves around too quickly to effectively exchange heat with its surroundings, since air is very a poor heat conductor, and heat flow is consequently quite a slow process. So, to a first approximation, the air in the packet is adiabatic. In a steady-state atmosphere, we expect that as the packet moves upwards, expands due to the reduced pressure, and cools adiabatically, its temperature always remains the same as that of its immediate surroundings. This means that we can use the adiabatic gas law to characterize the cooling of the atmosphere with increasing altitude. In this particular case, the most useful manifestation of the adiabatic law is
[tex]p^{1-\gamma} T^\gamma = constant [/tex]
The temperature decreases with increase in altitude because of the decrease in air pressure. As altitude increases, the air becomes less dense and can hold less heat, resulting in a decrease in temperature.
Yes, generally temperature decreases with altitude, but there can be exceptions depending on the specific location and atmospheric conditions. For example, in the stratosphere, temperature increases with altitude due to the absorption of UV radiation by ozone.
The temperature decreases by an average of 3.5°F per 1000 feet of altitude. However, this can vary depending on factors such as location, weather patterns, and time of day.
This is because the atmosphere acts as a insulator, trapping heat and keeping the Earth's surface warm. As altitude increases, the atmosphere becomes thinner and less effective at trapping heat, resulting in lower temperatures.
The decrease in temperature with altitude can have various effects on living beings. For humans, it can lead to altitude sickness if not acclimated properly. It can also affect the distribution of plants and animals, as different species have varying tolerances for temperature changes.