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Solar Radiation

1- Wiens displacement law:


Wiens law states that the thermal radiation intensity varies with the variation of the wavelength.
Any black body has the same curve characteristics
(trend) except for the peak wavelength, which is the
wavelength at which the thermal radiation intensity is
maximum, is displaced.
The mathematical formula of Wiens law is:

max
b

max
is the peak wavelength in meter
T is the absolute black body temperature in K
b is the proportionality constant = 2.897772126103 m K

2- The sun:
The sun is a sphere of a nuclear fusion that emits a massive power by radiation. This emitted
radiation is a composite of several layers of the sun that emits and absorbs radiation making what
is call the spectral irradiance of the sun.
Irradiance is defined as the electromagnetic radiation power per unit area, and the spectral
irradiance is the distribution of the irradiance with wavelength. The spectral irradiance usually
forms a bell shaped curve.
The electromagnetic radiation of the sun includes a wide range of wavelengths from Ultraviolet to
the infrared region.





As we can see from this curve the spectral solar irradiance is similar to that of the black body at
5800 K. The radiation of the sun outside the atmosphere is called the extra-terrestrial radiation.
The extra-terrestrial radiation is varied due to:
- The natural variation of radiation emitted by sun.
- The variation of the earth to the sun distance (Depends on day number n)

G
on
= G
sc
( 1 + 0.033 cos

)

G
sc
is the solar constant = 1367 W/m
2

G
on
is the extra-terrestrial radiation incident on a plane normal to the earth on the n
th
day.
From the spectral solar irradiance, the maximum spectral density occurs at wavelength about
0.48 m in the green portion of the visible region. About 6.4% of the total energy is ultraviolet ( <
0.38 m), 48% is in the visible spectrum and the remaining 45.6% is in the infrared region ( >
0.78 m).


3- The solar radiation at the earth surface:
The radiation at normal incidence received by the earth surface is subjected to variation due to
the variation of the extra-terrestrial irradiance and it is explained before. Moreover, there are two
other reasons for variation:
- Atmospheric scattering by air molecules, water, and dust.
- Atmospheric absorption by O3, H2O, and CO2
The atmospheric absorption in the solar energy spectrum is due largely to ozone in the ultraviolet
and to water vapor and carbon dioxide in bands in the infrared. The scattering is due to air
molecules, dust and water droplets. The x-rays and extreme ultra-violet radiations of the sun are
absorbed highly in the ionosphere by nitrogen, oxygen and other atmospheric gases; ozone and
water vapors largely absorb ultraviolet and infrared radiation respectively.
Scattering by air molecules, water vapors and dust particles results in the attenuation the
solar radiation.
The solar radiation reaches the earths surface can be classified into two components:
- Direct or Beam radiation G
b

- Diffuse radiation G
d

G = G
b
+ G
d
The effect of the atmosphere on the solar radiation depends on a parameter called the air mass
AM. Air mass is the ratio of the mass of atmosphere through which beam radiation passes to the
mass it would pass through if the sun were at the zenith directly overhead. At sea level m = 1
when the sun is at the zenith (
z
=0) and m = 2 for a zenith angle
z
of 60. For zenith angles from
0 to 70, at sea level, there is a close approximation:
AM =


Zenith angle
z
: is the angle between the vertical and the line to
the sun, that is, the angle of incidence of beam radiation on a
horizontal surface.

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