New educational films using infrared technology to understand the atmosphere
We have been working together with atmospheric physicists from Imperial College, London, supported by the Institute of Physics Environmental Physics group, to produce a set of six short films looking at how we can use an infrared camera or thermometer to observe physics at work in the atmosphere.
The set of films cover:
- Albedo - Albedo is another name for reflectivity. The albedo of a surface determines how much sunlight will be absorbed to warm the surface compared to another surface that reflects most of the light and does not change temperature.
Dr Simon Foster, Outreach Officer at the Department of Physics, Imperial College London said: “Part of Imperial College’s mission is to improve society’s understanding of important scientific concepts, with one of the most pressing areas being our climate and environment.
We were therefore delighted to partner with the Royal Meteorology Society to produce these educational films exploring the important role that infrared radiation plays in environmental and atmospheric physics. It is our aim that through these films students, teachers and the public will develop a better understanding of the world around us and give them a gateway into the fascinating world of Meteorology.”
Dr. Sylvia Knight, Head of Education at the Royal Meteorological Society added: “These six films mark the beginning of an exciting project to support the teaching of climate change in secondary science lessons. The last 12 months have seen calls from students, teachers and universities for more climate change education in schools. Through these resources, we hope to demonstrate how core physics can be taught through the topic of climate change.”
Each film is accompanied by some short questions to test understanding and is just one of the many resources we have available for supporting the teaching of weather and climate. Please visit our MetLink website for more.