The luminosity of the sun governs the temperature of the planets. And the solar forcing, or driving, of climate, primarily due to changes insolar radiation, is an idea whose history has not been well documented in a book. Recent satellite measurements have shown that solar radiation varies as a function of wavelength - a concept that for the past two centuries scientists have claimed would be proved. Now, with all of the attention being given to global warming, this topic has again become timely.The book will review the physics of the concept of solar forcing in manageable terms, tracing its history from its beginnings in the early 1800s toits apparent success in the 1920s, to its near demise in the 1950s and its resurrection in recent years. Emphasis will be on solar variation as a driver for climate change, with only a brief discussion of other mechanisms - thus assuring the book a clear focus.

The luminosity of the sun governs the temperatures of the planets. Yet the solar forcing, or driving, of climate, primarily due to changes in solar radiation, has never been well documented. Recent satellite measurements have shown that solar radiation varies as a function of time and wavelength, a concept that has been hypothesized for the past two centuries and has recently become a major topic with all the attention paid to global warming. This book reviews thephysics of the concept of solar forcing, from its beginnings in the early 1800's and apparent success in the 1870's, to its near demise in the 1950's and recent resurgence. Since its emphasis is onsolar variations as a driver for climate change, with only a brief discussion of other mechanisms, the book will be of most interest to students in climate studies.

The luminosity of the sun governs the temperature of the planets. And the solar forcing, or driving, of climate, primarily due to changes insolar radiation, is an idea whose history has not been well documented in a book. Recent satellite measurements have shown that solar radiation varies as a function of wavelength - a concept that for the past two centuries scientists have claimed would be proved. Now, with all of the attention being given to global warming, this topic has again become timely.The book will review the physics of the concept of solar forcing in manageable terms, tracing its history from its beginnings in the early 1800s toits apparent success in the 1920s, to its near demise in the 1950s and its resurrection in recent years. Emphasis will be on solar variation as a driver for climate change, with only a brief discussion of other mechanisms - thus assuring the book a clear focus.

The luminosity of the sun governs the temperatures of the planets. Yet the solar forcing, or driving, of climate, primarily due to changes in solar radiation, has never been well documented. Recent satellite measurements have shown that solar radiation varies as a function of time and wavelength, a concept that has been hypothesized for the past two centuries and has recently become a major topic with all the attention paid to global warming. This book reviews thephysics of the concept of solar forcing, from its beginnings in the early 1800's and apparent success in the 1870's, to its near demise in the 1950's and recent resurgence. Since its emphasis is onsolar variations as a driver for climate change, with only a brief discussion of other mechanisms, the book will be of most interest to students in climate studies.