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Among the multitude of facts and opinions in magazines, books, and on television, I have never seen an analysis of whether or not global warming will be self-limiting due to the effect of the Stefan-Boltzmann law (see also Wien's law). This law of blackbody radiation states that the energy, E, that is emitted by a body with temperature T is proportional to the fourth power of the temperature: E = σT4.
Since the average "in-radiation" from the sun at any given location and at the same time of the year is for all practical purposes a constant, any heating due to a greenhouse effect would be expected to reach a self-limiting equilibrium very quickly after only a very modest rise in temperature. The reason is that the "out-radiation" will overpower the greenhouse effect after a very small temperature rise because of the enormous countervailing effect of the Stefan-Boltzmann law.
Oswald R. Bergmann
Wilmington, Del.
Ballots for the American Chemical Society's fall 2006 national election were mailed to members on Sept. 25. If your ballot (mailed in a white envelope with a red banner marked "Urgent Official Election Ballot Enclosed") hasn't arrived yet, you may request that a duplicate ballot be sent to you by calling VR Election Services, Customer Service at (800) 218-4026, Monday-Friday, 8:30 AM-5 PM central time, no later than Oct. 27. You can cast your vote electronically or by traditional mail-in ballot. The voting deadline is close of business (5 PM CT), on Nov. 3. Election information on all candidates can be found at chemistry.org/election.
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