Radiation is a heat transfer but does not require a medium to occur. It utilizes electromagnetic waves to occur. Radiation occurs with liquids due to their ability to absorb radiation. Air, in the shipping industry, is considered to be transparent, but on a planetary scale it does play a role (water vapor, CO2) in the Greenhouse effect. (ISTA) Any object or surface at a temperature above absolute zero (-273.15 degrees C, or -459.67 degrees F, the theoretical temperature where all molecular motion ceases and no heat is present, thought to be impossible to reach),, radiates thermal energy. (ISTA)
« Back to Glossary Index
