00:03Oh, hey, hi. I'm Crazy Chris and welcome to So Cool Science. Science you can do right at home.
00:10I'm just keeping cool on this summer day and going over today's science file.
00:17In today's science file, it says...
00:21Why is it so hot in the summer?
00:25Well, that's an awesome question. Try this.
00:34You'll need some juice can, Liz, a piece of paper, and a lamp.
00:39So, you want to know why summer is hot? Well, okay, I'll tell you. The sun.
00:44That's it. Show's over.
00:49Oh, well, I see. You want me to show you why the sun makes it hot in the summer.
00:55Okay, all right. Well, you're in luck because today we're talking about rays.
01:00And I'm not talking about guys named Ray either.
01:04Okay, the first thing you're going to need is two juice can lids.
01:11It's a cheap party trick.
01:13Oh, yeah, that's right. And you need to get yourself one of these.
01:16A heat light because we're going to be generating some heat.
01:19I know what you're thinking. Why a heat light?
01:21It's summer. There's enough heat.
01:24Well, we need to generate some heat for this experiment.
01:27Oh, and by the way, do not touch these suckers when they get hot
01:31because you're going to find yourself saying a few words you can't say on TV.
01:36All right, now turn on your lamp.
01:38And using the piece of paper, put the other juice can lid in a slant like this.
01:42Place one juice can lid flat.
01:44Now you've got to let this sit for like about a minute.
01:49Whoa, check that out.
01:51This one that was flat feels warmer than this one that was not.
01:55So, why does this one that was flat feel hotter than this one that was at a slant?
02:00And how did direct rays create more heat than slanted rays?
02:05Well, don't look at me.
02:07Take a closer look at this.
02:10The reason the flat lid and the slanted lid are slightly different temperatures has to do with light waves.
02:16As light beams down on the slanted lid, most of the light is bounced off at a right angle
02:21and doesn't have time to get absorbed.
02:23However, when the light hits the flat lid, this forces most of the light to actually get absorbed rather than
02:29bounce off.
02:30This light getting absorbed causes the flat lid to be warmer than the slanted lid.
02:34Same thing happens with the earth.
02:36Since the earth is tilted, this makes light waves hit the earth at different angles.
02:41When the sun's light hits the earth straight on, most of the light energy is absorbed by the earth
02:46and conducted into the air, making summers hot.
02:49When the light from the sun hits the earth at an angle, most of the light is bounced off the
02:53earth and we get cold winters.
02:55You might think that the only reason we get hot summers has to do with the earth's sun.
03:00However, the oceans play a very important role in keeping summers hot as well.
03:05As the oceans absorb heat energy, eventually the earth will move into a position where the earth is no longer
03:10being hit by direct sunlight.
03:12As the oceans release their heat energy back into the earth's atmosphere,
03:16this makes the summer months last about one month longer than they would without the oceans.
03:20In fact, without the oceans, the earth would be about 30 degrees cooler than it currently is.
03:26The oceans also play a role in keeping winters warmer than they would be.
03:31So now you know why summers are hot.
03:33You know, being able to feel why summers are hot is why science is so cool.
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