The Sun emits a wide range of electromagnetic radiation, including visible light, ultraviolet (UV) rays, infrared rays, and others. However, infrared rays are the primary radiation that contributes to the Earth's warmth.
- Infrared rays are absorbed by the Earth and re-radiated as heat, which is responsible for maintaining the Earth's temperature. This is often referred to as the greenhouse effect.
- While visible light contributes to illumination, and UV rays have other effects such as causing sunburns, it is the infrared radiation that plays a key role in heating the Earth's surface and atmosphere. Thus, the correct answer is option (A), Infrared rays.
The left and right compartments of a thermally isolated container of length $L$ are separated by a thermally conducting, movable piston of area $A$. The left and right compartments are filled with $\frac{3}{2}$ and 1 moles of an ideal gas, respectively. In the left compartment the piston is attached by a spring with spring constant $k$ and natural length $\frac{2L}{5}$. In thermodynamic equilibrium, the piston is at a distance $\frac{L}{2}$ from the left and right edges of the container as shown in the figure. Under the above conditions, if the pressure in the right compartment is $P = \frac{kL}{A} \alpha$, then the value of $\alpha$ is ____