Like pressure and density, temperature varies in both space and time in the atmosphere. On average, the vertical variation in temperature far exceeds that in the horizontal. The transfer of radiant energy from one object to another occurs without the region between them necessarily being heated. The wavelengths of radiation that an object emits depend primarily on the object s temperature. Objects that have a high temperature emit radiation at a greater rate than objects with a lower temperature.
Radiation travels as a wave and interacts with a material by absorption and scattering.
The specific heat of a substance of unit mass is the ratio of the amount of heat energy absorbed by that substance to its corresponding temperature rise. For example, the specific heat of water is about five times that of dry soil. This explains why the land generally heats up more quickly than the ocean. Sensible heat is the heat that we feel when we touch a substance. The molecule by molecule transfer of heat from one substance to another is called conduction .