Climatology and Quantum Mechanics: Analytical Essay

Climatology

Climatology refers to the study of climate which is considered to be a subdivision of the Physical Characteristics of layout of planet Earth, weather is a physical process that is most common indicator of climate variations, also amends the topography. In other words, it is the weather conditions of region recorded over long period of time, including peak intensities, occurrences and sequences of weathers. The topography of planet includes the amount rain, direction wind and floods that determine that the soil will become fertile or erosion will happen. All these natural phenomena determine human activity and create the availability of certain potential gains that directly affect the economy of region. It will not be wrong to say that Climate plays an important role in the advancement of aptitudes in climatically stable regions and can also be a cause of catastrophe in climatically unstable regions on the planet. Climatology comes in show when elemental learning of climate its nature and prevalence of certain variations on the basis of geographical regions and their effects on naturally occurring phenomena of that region is required to be done. It plays a vital role when discussion on climate-related features like air density, circulation of wind, air fronts, formation of cyclones at temporarily high or low pressure centers is needed. Climatology becomes indispensable the minute studying characteristics of area where a certain temperature type possess prevalence should be monitored and interface of each climate category with humans, economic activities and habitat is to be considered for policy making or other purposes.

There are many factors that are directly influenced by climate, agriculture for instance while other are indirectly influenced by climate i.e. E-commerce. The agriculture is still on the mercy of climate, direct rainfall or water reaching an area from rainfall in upper regions to its channel basins determines the agricultural conditions of that area. Even the efficiency of industrial tools also depends on the sets naturally prevailing of artificially controlled microclimate conditions. Since climate applies definite procedures for clothing, diet, air-conditioning etc. it imitates the behavior of a person.

Climate System

Thermosphere, Hydrosphere, Cryosphere, Biosphere and Lithosphere are collectively termed as Climate system. The Thermosphere is like a blanket of gases that surrounds the Earth while the Hydrosphere is that part of planet that comprises of water, that water could be in seas, oceans, rivers, lakes and underground reservoirs. The part of earth where water is present in its frozen state (sea frost, river frost and snow covers etc.) is known as the cryosphere. The lithosphere is the upper layer of earth’s surface and biosphere is a collective term for all the ecosystems on earth. Climate is obtained by observing the collaboration between all these components.

Physical Factors influencing Climate of Earth

Climate of a region does not exist randomly it results due to four main physical factors which effect the spread of climate modules on the surface of planet that are listed below

The relative position of Sun with Latitudes of Earth

The hierarchy of climate and alterations in weather are directly influenced by sun which is the most abundant energy source for planet Earth. The likability of sunrays falling on the planet determine the insolation per unit area. Where the sun rays reach the earth’s surface vertically, insolation is recorded to be the highest there. The earth accomplishes an axial rotation in twenty four hours and its axis has witnessed declination of 23½ degrees. The planet’s yearly elliptical rotation around the sun’s orbit and its axial ration give rise to daily switching of the belt of vertical sunrays between the tropics of various regions. As the spectrum of vertical sunrays move the thermal equator also rotates this is how the temperature distribution is maintained on earth by movement of sun. The temperature recording is minimum when the sun rays are relatively oblique this variation formulates climate zones.

Geographic position and Latitude of Mountains

It is a well-known fact that the higher we go the cooler it is. The varying altitudes of mountains provide colder temperature to the inhabitants. Mountains also provide a barrier to inter zonal flow of warm or cold air masses. They also help to produce much needed monsoon rain in Pakistan and other south Asian countries. Being home to many wild animals they also stabilize the food chain.

Coexistence of Land and Water units

As the air that flows from water bodies to land is damp it hence enriches the climate of land bodies in addition to this the moist air also helps to apportion the rainfall. As sun absorbs moisture and clouds are formed which then get heavier and cause rain. The humidified air after going over the ocean may reach land bodies and is also capable of producing drizzle. Local sea breeze are a major source of enrichment in air softness during the summers in Karachi which causes a small temperature drop also.

Formation of tides in oceans

The variation in temperature, salinity of surface, density of ocean and wind circulating above the ocean, all these factors consequently produces ocean currents. The temperature of ocean currents is of significant importance, the warm water currents rise from the equator and not only cause beneficial variance in the temperature when reach the coast but also bring rainfall which is important for agriculture. The intermingling of warm and cold water currents, however, give rise to foggy circumstances and also produce locations that are abundant with fishes.

Climate Variability

While measuring the change in climate system the most considered term is standard or mean deviation of climate termed as climate variability. Climate variability is calculated by measuring the overall statistical variations in climate that are recorded to be persistent a certain long period of time. The deviation of climate statistics from standard value are termed as ‘climate anomalies’.

Climate Change

Climate variability that happens directly or indirectly due to human activities that result in altering the overall chemical composition of atmosphere of Earth is termed as climate change. The climate change is one of the most important global concerns today it has affected our eco-system badly by making many animals extinct and has proven to be hazardous to humans as well.

Figure 1.1: Climate Risks, Extreme Events and Related Impacts [2].

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Climate variability vs. Climate change

Climate variability is caused by natural phenomenon like volcanic eruptions while climate change is caused purely by the direct or indirect influence of human activities. Moreover, climate variability is measured over shorter period of time i.e. month, season or year while climate change is an obstinate change in climate that is recorded to be persistent over time of decades or more. When an event like volcanic eruptions happens once in a long time the standard deviation of climate is termed as climate variation and if such natural phenomenon (glacier melting or volcanic eruption) start to occur more frequently than the time required by nature to recover from such catastrophes then these abnormalities are termed as climate change.

Quantum Mechanics

The term ‘Quantum Mechanics’ is still an intriguing concept and for this very reason is important for us to understand its meaning and how it interacts with our pitch. In this system of observing behavioral characteristics of surrounding objects on infinitesimally small scale the name indicates its contrast with classical mechanics. At atomic scale the subatomic particles project wavelike properties. Just like classical mechanics, QM also facilitates the study of particles with formulas that congregate to present the wave nature of the particles. Quantum Mechanics is relatively easier to be applied whenever it is required to figure out how a physical system works.

Following are the main facts that must be understood and hence explained in easier language in order to grab the idea of how his intimidating idea of studying quantum mechanics can be made less intimidating and more consumable for our brains.

Quantum Mechanics is supported by mathematics

The things that quantum mechanics claim to justify are no doubt surprising and unbelievably intimidating, however they are supported by mathematical tools and principals. The only reason why most people find it absurd or intimidating is that the results proved by Quantum Mechanics are not easily spotted in our daily lives the counterintuitive nature of this field makes it different from classical Mechanics, we don’t experience Quantum Mechanics in its raw form rather we see the effects of this field in our daily lives.

The paradox of wave particle duality

The main paradox created by Quantum Mechanics is that everything in the universe exists as particle and a wave simultaneously. This revelation makes everything just waves with no waving over the distance that is nonexistent at all as explained by Greg Bear, so deep down everything is just waves and the things happening are just interaction among waves. However everything also has a particle nature, considering the wave nature everything seems like insignificant waves interacting and transferring energy that cannot be observed by human eye here the particle natures gives another perspective to the universe.

Representing the real object as waves and particles is quite comical. Quantum Mechanics tackles this issue by introducing an approach where the object studied is neither considered particle nor wave but some properties exhibited by the object under observation are wavelike while some properties are that of a particle. This ‘door number three’ is just manipulation of language in order explain the mathematics more effectively.

The discrete nature of Quantum Mechanics

The meaning of word ‘quantum’ in Latin is ‘how much’ so the models in Quantum Mechanics involve discrete amount. For example, the energy in a quantum state is always considered to be an integral multiple of ultimate energy value just like black body radiation that appear to have continuous distribution of energy. No matter how much energy is trapped in a light spectrum it will exist in discrete multiples of the total energy present in that spectrum of light and this property of energy of existing in discrete multiples can be observed atoms and energy levels present in solid (valence energy level, Fermi energy level and conduction energy level etc.) where certain values of energies are permitted by the structural properties of solid and vice versa.

The Cesium Atomic clock, for example, operates because of the discreteness of Quantum Mechanics where it measures the transition or resonant frequencies of Cesium, change of state happens when the right amount energy is received in discrete form.

Probability in Quantum Mechanics

The outcome of any Quantum mechanical experiment is not completely discrete or accurate, for example, locating an electron in an atom one cannot exactly pin point where the electron is present in the atom but the existence of electrons is represented in probability the low energy electrons have higher probability of existing near the nucleus. In mathematics we consider wave functions of the particle to find out where the particle will exist and at what point of time if the particle is being observed other than wave-functions we can also calculate expectation values referring to velocity or position which can be done by taking the integral of wave-function and the quantity to be measure over infinity. So all we can predict is the probability of a certain outcome and which supports the fact that nature itself is indefinite. For example, if we observe a particle moving from an initial point to final point in classical mechanics the particle will choose one fixed path however in quantum mechanics if a particle is moving from an initial point to a final point it will take all the possible paths in a space of probability distribution.

Figure 1.2: How a classical mechanics particle and a quantum particle moves from an initial point to a final point [3].

The link between Quantum Mechanics and Climatology

The most important part is to realize how something as small as atom and as delicate as waves can be related to the climate that we experience all the time without putting an electron in a vacuum of trapping light in a black body. The earth can be imagined to be wrapped up in an envelope of gases that are collectively called atmosphere so the atmosphere is made up various elements, nitrogen, carbon and oxygen etc. Earth’s heating balance which is maintained by radiations can be considered to be a point of link between Quantum Mechanics and Climate. The earth’s body absorbs the energy from the sun and radiates it back into the universe, some of the radiations are absorbed by the atmospheric molecules depending on the nature of molecules and radiation being reemitted by earth. Without these gases that are obviously composed of atoms and molecules the earth would just like a cold rock absorbing the radiations from the sun and emitting them back into the universe. In order to model the weather system physicists use scattering theory in which the scattering of particles from the atmospheric gasses is studied to detect the temperature variations. Moreover, wave propagation models can be used to study the radiations. Wave propagation models help in studying the travelling of waves with respect to the direction of oscillation of the gas molecules. This study deals with bonding structures, reactivity and physical properties of atoms, molecules and radicals etc. The building blocks of atmospheric gases, for example carbon, also exist at Nano scale like quantum dots. However the description of motion and structures of the particles this small, their energies and other properties can only be studied in the framework provided by Quantum Mechanics.