HackerTube.dev

I Misunderstood the Greenhouse Effect. Here's How It Works.

Sabine Hossenfelder · 989.4K views · 2023-02-04 · 19:07

Open on YouTube ↗

If playback is restricted in your region, try opening the original video. Use Mark watched to add it to your marked videos.

Overview

Sabine Hossenfelder explains how the greenhouse effect actually works, given that infrared is mostly absorbed low in the atmosphere already. She walks through why more CO2 still warms the surface.

On Hacker News

Recommended as an accessible, nuanced explanation of the mechanics of global warming, including the saturation puzzle.

Recommended by 5 HN people across 5 months · HN mentions 2023–2025

Topics

Climate science & climate change
Search by tags
climate changeco2greenhouse gasesatmospheric physicssaturation

What people said

gcanyon · 2025-10 · Recommendation

Related context: Sabine Hossenfelder's explanation of how the greenhouse effect works -- it's interesting and weird: [VIDEO]

Read the original HN comment ↗
jeffbee · 2025-02 · Recommendation

This Sabine Hossenfelder video helped me understand stratospheric cooling as a climate change outcome. [VIDEO]

Read the original HN comment ↗
gcanyon · 2024-02 · Recommendation

For anyone who's curious, here's an explanation of how the greenhouse effect works -- it's not just that some infrared radiation escapes from earth to space, while some other infrared radiation gets trapped. [VIDEO]

Read the original HN comment ↗

Sources

Video by Sabine Hossenfelder, played through YouTube.

Data and selection notes

HN summaries and labels may contain AI errors. HN dates refer to discussions, not video publication.

HN Library: HackerTube export (2026-10-31) and open-index/hacker-news. Upstream summaries and classifications may contain AI errors.

Views, duration and playback status refresh separately from the published catalog. When an update fails, existing data remains visible.

Selection checks
  • SaaS & AI candidates: Topic keywords do not match
  • Editor-approved picks: Editorial review is required

Rule matches identify candidates. They do not guarantee video quality or financial results.

About the library and its sources