Of Heat Engines: an Addendum

The atmosphere is not static. It is dynamic and it is bootstrapping its way into a deeper and deeper layer of instability.

Thermodynamics of the Climate System

The climate system comprises the fluid envelopes of Earth: the atmosphere, oceans, and cryosphere. Those constituents, along with the evolving surface properties of the solid lithosphere, are responsible for reflecting…

Climate as a heat engine

Guest essay by Jan Kjetil Andersen As Willis describes in his article on December 21, the atmosphere can be seen as a gigantic heat engine, i.e. a machine which convert…

The Magnificent Climate Heat Engine

Guest Post by Willis Eschenbach I’ve been reflecting over the last few days about how the climate system of the earth functions as a giant natural heat engine. A “heat…