In this case, the substance is the atmosphere. When the atmosphere absorbs energy, the result is an irreversible transformation of radiation into another form of energy. This energy is transformed according to the nature of the medium doing the absorbing. The absorbing medium can also do much more. The medium will only absorb a portion of the total energy.
Drawn from a book title, the phrase has taken on a broader meaning. If you've paid any attention to business in the last few years, it's likely that you've heard a lot about leaning in. Headlines and book titles encourage us to lean in to innovation, or tell companies to lean in, or detail education without leaning in..
I believe that so to speak is the writer's way of putting quotes around the word corporeal to suggest that this should not be read as a literal meaning of the term. and this allegedly confused, hazy Hegelian notion appears [figuratively speaking] in corporeal form in things and processes. The writer could have simply said: