The Greenhouse effect

The greenhouse effect is the process in which the emission of infrared radiation by the atmosphere warms a planet's surface (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_effect). The name comes from an incorrect analogy with the warming of air inside a greenhouse compared to the air outside the greenhouse (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_effect). The Earth's average surface temperature of 15 °C is about 33 °C warmer than it would be without the greenhouse effect (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_effect). The greenhouse effect was discovered by Joseph Fourier in 1824 and first investigated quantitatively by Svante Arrhenius in 1896 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_effect). Global warming, a recent warming of the Earth, is believed to be the result of increased concentrations of greenhous gases in the atmosphere (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_effect). In addition to the Earth, Mars and Venus have greenhouse effects (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_effect).