it'd be different than sunlight

I remember reading that the ground is colder when exposed to clear sky because heat radiates outward with nothing to insulate it. Objects sheltered under something would be slightly warmer as they are partially insulated. For example, the ground under a bridge would have the bridge to retain a bit of its heat at night.

The sun has warmed the surface during the day. Once the sun goes down, the earth's surface will begin to cool (energy emitted is greater than energy received). This causes the earth's surface to become progressively cooler during the night. ... The sun gradually warms the surface throughout the day.

Yes but from melting rocks to no warmth at all. That is not 90% reduction in heat.

yeah

but ur not facing directly at the sun tho

so it will be alot colder

I'm very close to writing an essay on what's going on here

haha

@Drewski4343 yes but that's different than just moonlight and nothing else cooling things down

The magnifying lens is most likely the best test. And moonlight does not produce any heat.

what do you mean, raspberry?

There are like 3 common things I see and I may just decide to write about it

moonlight is just light

@mineyful i've read what you've said but they don't seem to explain the thing

all light is just made from photons, so there is no cold light

Moonlight consists of mostly sunlight reflected from the parts of the Moon's surface where the Sun's light strikes.

yeah you guys keep talking but they don't

@Drewski4343 temperatures can be different in different buildings or in different settings. but you could just cover/uncover a stream of moonlight onto ao thermometer

Most of us use the word 'heat' to mean something that feels warm, but science defines heat as the flow of energy from a warm object to a cooler object.

True but photons can do different things. They shine a laser into the remaining air in a vacuum chamber to make it colder. So light can be used to cool.

Light can be used as the heat source, but the cooling power is not very strong. Much better performance is obtained when laser light is used to cool clouds of atoms and other small objects to near absolute zero.

steve's got a point

only if the material gives of more light than taken in

yees, photons can absorb energy. they are part of the electromagnetic quantum wave

Photons are actually a particle representing a quantum of light or other electromagnetic radiation. A photon carries energy proportional to the radiation frequency but has zero rest mass.

@raspberry so, covering the ground directly after measuring it uncovered has a warmer temperature?

nice explanation

So Moonlight could be absorbing energy. Cooling us.

@Drewski4343 covering/uncovering moonlight. but not insulating the ground. like, a piece of dark paper 20 feet above a thermometer will not insulate it

there would be a tiny fraction of insulation. but barely negligible.

and yeah @Steve Angell

I make no claim on Moonlight. I just do not know. I never properly tested it except with a magnifying glass. It did not make my hand even a tiny bit warm.

well yeah moonlight barely has any energy compared to sunlight

@Drewski4343 yes

Yet in sunlight lit paper or even wood on fire quite fast.

the best way to know is to test

yeah because the sun is magnitudes more powerful than the moon

it's like trying to light a fire by using a magnifying glass and a flashlight

that's what you're doing with the moonlight

it's just far too weak