tl;dr - the difference between radiated heat and conducted heat
read again
It just doesn't seem right that the very sparse air molecules could get so hot, but metal couldn't reach the same temperature. This is the sun we're talking about.
But I can't make my own sun and test this for myself down here on earth...
So a lack of mass (sparse air molecules) is easily heated up to 4500 degrees Fahrenheit because there isn't very much radiation needed to do it. Whereas you would need a lot more radiation to melt steel as it's mass is massive in comparison. Correct?
So this satellite is flying through all these super-hot air molecules, but it's cooling down way faster than heating up. Where is that heat going? If there isn't any air up there that isn't super-hot.
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