First Law of Thermo Backs Nikolov & Zeller, Refutes Climate Alarm
This has been posted before, but repetition is one recipe for success. Especially one so simple.
Climate alarmism is based, of course, upon its alternative conception of a greenhouse effect from that of an actual real greenhouse.
A real greenhouse is warmed by the sun and remains warmer inside than outside because it physically traps warmed-air inside, whereas outside that air warmed in contact with the sunlight-heated surface is immediately diluted with cooler air from the entire atmosphere.
Inside a greenhouse there is trapped a much, much smaller quantity of air than the entire atmosphere, and so this air trapped inside can be warmed quickly to the temperature at which it is being heated from sunlight, which is typically fifty degrees Celsius and higher.
The climate alarmist alternative greenhouse theory, however, is based upon sunlight not being able to heat anything to a temperature above minus eighteen degrees Celsius.
Climate alarmism begins with this position because they treat the Earth as flat. Yes, it is actually flat Earth theory. From there the theory develops a scheme where the radiation passively amplifies itself to a higher temperature.
In any case, aside from these existing fatal flaws which already make the postulate of an alarming climate pseudoscientific, let us consider the First Law of Thermodynamics:
- ΔU = W + Q
ΔU is the change in internal energy of a system, and W and Q are the work (W ) performed upon and heat (Q) sent to the system. And so that is:
In order to increase a system’s internal energy, i.e. to increase its temperature, it must have work performed upon it and/or heat sent to it.
Thermal radiation from the atmosphere satisfies neither of those requirements in order that the atmosphere may behave as a temperature-increasing function for the surface of the Earth: thermal radiation from the atmosphere is not performing any work on the surface, and nor does the cooler atmosphere have any heat to send to the warmer surface since heat can only be sent from a warmer object to a cooler one.
Thus it is all extremely simple: there is no mechanism, in thermodynamic law, that the cooler atmosphere could cause the warmer surface to increase in temperature. Look at equation 1: this is algebra for 5 year old’s. It is so, so simple.
There are no heat (Q) sources other than the Sun and sunlight (aside from the negligible geothermal heat making to to the surface).
However, the atmosphere does have a temperature gradient where the gas is warmest at the bottom of the atmosphere, coolest at the top (of the troposphere, where Ideal laws apply), and the average temperature is, of course, in the middle.
And so, since there are no other heat sources around, what is the only possible thing left which can perform work upon the atmosphere in order to affect its energy and temperature?
The only phenomenon left is gravity. And we already know the physics of how this works, and how to derive the effects, and what is derived is likewise empirically confirmed. Thus there’s neither need nor room for any alternative and/or additional phenomenon, such as an alarming radiative greenhouse effect, in order to explain the temperature distribution of the troposphere.
This is precisely what Nikolov and Zeller found in their independent research.
In summary:
The thermal radiation from the cool atmosphere has no heat to send to and performs no work upon the warmer ground surface. Therefore, there is no alarming radiative greenhouse effect. The First Law of Thermodynamics refutes political climate alarmism.
Furthermore, only gravity can perform work upon the atmosphere, and this explains the temperature gradient of the atmosphere with theory matching observations, and this leaves no room for any additional influence from a supposed radiative greenhouse effect notwithstanding that said effect is not supported by theory in any case.
Reader comments are welcome at climateofsophistry.com
PRINCIPIA SCIENTIFIC INTERNATIONAL, legally registered in the UK as a company 
incorporated for charitable purposes. Head Office: 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX. Telephone: Calls from within the UK: 020 7419 5027. International dialling: (44) 20 7419 5027.
Please DONATE TODAY To Help Our Non-Profit Mission To Defend The Scientific Method.
Trackback from your site.