Talk:Greenhouse effect

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 Definition A general attribute of planets and moons with atmospheres denoting an imbalance between surface radiation and top-of-atmosphere radiation due to the presence of greenhouse gases. [d] [e]
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hello Mr. Farrar,

I notice your usage of the fortran typograph ** for power. I am not certain if that is an accepted standard - as most nowadays use ^ for power, as in m^2. Just a small reminder. I will see if I can find reference to it as well. Robert Tito 21:58, 3 February 2007 (CST) You might try the following: m2 and see the result you want. Using the tag for start superscript, and to end it, or respectively . In the help pages many more examples are given. To see these tags, enter edit-mode. Robert Tito 22:01, 3 February 2007 (CST)

Could we make this article a bit more accessible to the layman? I took a year of physics in high school and another year in college, but the "reading level" of Greenhouse effect is tough for me to follow. --Ed Poor 16:08, 9 May 2007 (CDT)

dipole moment

It was stated that O2 and N2 do not absorb infrared radiation because they "do not have a strong enough dipole to interact well with infrared". These molecules don't have any dipole, because of inversion symmetry. But neither CO2 nor methane possesses a dipole. Having a dipole is not the point, but affording a dipole transition is what matters. Homonuclear diatomics do not afford such an infrared transition, neither rotational nor vibrational. This is simply a matter of symmetry. CO2 and methane have strong dipole allowed vibrational transitions, which make them greenhouse gases. This is why I changed the text a little--Paul Wormer 06:20, 11 November 2007 (CST)