Everything about atmospheric pressure is the most interesting. What is normal air pressure? Not everyone is affected by hypertension, but blood pressure rises with age

The atmosphere is what makes life possible on Earth. We get the very first information and facts about the atmosphere in elementary school. In high school, we are already more familiar with this concept in geography lessons.

The concept of the earth's atmosphere

The atmosphere is present not only in the Earth, but also in other celestial bodies. This is the name of the gaseous shell surrounding the planets. The composition of this gas layer of different planets is significantly different. Let's look at the basic information and facts about otherwise called air.

Its most important component is oxygen. Some mistakenly think that the earth's atmosphere is made entirely of oxygen, but air is actually a mixture of gases. It contains 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen. The remaining one percent includes ozone, argon, carbon dioxide, water vapor. Let the percentage of these gases be small, but they perform an important function - they absorb a significant part of the solar radiant energy, thereby preventing the luminary from turning all life on our planet into ashes. The properties of the atmosphere change with altitude. For example, at an altitude of 65 km, nitrogen is 86% and oxygen is 19%.

The composition of the Earth's atmosphere

• Carbon dioxide essential for plant nutrition. In the atmosphere, it appears as a result of the process of respiration of living organisms, rotting, burning. The absence of it in the composition of the atmosphere would make it impossible for any plants to exist.
• Oxygen is a vital component of the atmosphere for humans. Its presence is a condition for the existence of all living organisms. It makes up about 20% of the total volume of atmospheric gases.
• Ozone It is a natural absorber of solar ultraviolet radiation, which adversely affects living organisms. Most of it forms a separate layer of the atmosphere - the ozone screen. Recently, human activity leads to the fact that it begins to gradually collapse, but since it is of great importance, active work is underway to preserve and restore it.
• water vapor determines the humidity of the air. Its content may vary depending on various factors: air temperature, geographical location, season. At low temperatures, there is very little water vapor in the air, maybe less than one percent, and at high temperatures, its amount reaches 4%.
• In addition to all of the above, in the composition of the earth's atmosphere there is always a certain percentage solid and liquid impurities. These are soot, ash, sea salt, dust, water drops, microorganisms. They can get into the air both naturally and by anthropogenic means.

Layers of the atmosphere

And the temperature, and density, and the qualitative composition of the air is not the same at different heights. Because of this, it is customary to distinguish different layers of the atmosphere. Each of them has its own characteristic. Let's find out which layers of the atmosphere are distinguished:

• The troposphere is the layer of the atmosphere closest to the Earth's surface. Its height is 8-10 km above the poles and 16-18 km in the tropics. Here is 90% of all water vapor that is available in the atmosphere, so there is an active formation of clouds. Also in this layer there are such processes as the movement of air (wind), turbulence, convection. The temperature ranges from +45 degrees at noon in the warm season in the tropics to -65 degrees at the poles.
• The stratosphere is the second furthest layer from the atmosphere. It is located at an altitude of 11 to 50 km. In the lower layer of the stratosphere, the temperature is approximately -55, towards the distance from the Earth it rises to +1˚С. This region is called the inversion and is the boundary between the stratosphere and the mesosphere.
• The mesosphere is located at an altitude of 50 to 90 km. The temperature at its lower boundary is about 0, at the upper it reaches -80...-90 ˚С. Meteorites that enter the Earth's atmosphere burn out completely in the mesosphere, because of this, airglows occur here.
• The thermosphere is about 700 km thick. The northern lights appear in this layer of the atmosphere. They appear due to the action of cosmic radiation and radiation emanating from the Sun.
• The exosphere is a zone of air dispersion. Here, the concentration of gases is small and their gradual escape into interplanetary space takes place.

The boundary between the earth's atmosphere and outer space is considered to be a line of 100 km. This line is called the Karman line.

atmospheric pressure

Listening to the weather forecast, we often hear barometric pressure readings. But what does atmospheric pressure mean, and how might it affect us?

We figured out that air consists of gases and impurities. Each of these components has its own weight, which means that the atmosphere is not weightless, as was believed until the 17th century. Atmospheric pressure is the force with which all layers of the atmosphere press on the surface of the Earth and on all objects.

Scientists conducted complex calculations and proved that the atmosphere presses on one square meter of area with a force of 10,333 kg. This means that the human body is subject to air pressure, the weight of which is 12-15 tons. Why don't we feel it? It saves us its internal pressure, which balances the external one. You can feel the pressure of the atmosphere while in an airplane or high in the mountains, since the atmospheric pressure at altitude is much less. In this case, physical discomfort, stuffy ears, dizziness are possible.

A lot can be said about the atmosphere around. We know a lot of interesting facts about her, and some of them may seem surprising:

• The weight of the earth's atmosphere is 5,300,000,000,000,000 tons.
• It contributes to the transmission of sound. At an altitude of more than 100 km, this property disappears due to changes in the composition of the atmosphere.
• The movement of the atmosphere is provoked by uneven heating of the Earth's surface.
• A thermometer is used to measure air temperature, and a barometer is used to measure atmospheric pressure.
• The presence of an atmosphere saves our planet from 100 tons of meteorites daily.
• The composition of the air was fixed for several hundred million years, but began to change with the onset of rapid industrial activity.
• It is believed that the atmosphere extends upwards to an altitude of 3000 km.

The value of the atmosphere for humans

The physiological zone of the atmosphere is 5 km. At an altitude of 5000 m above sea level, a person begins to show oxygen starvation, which is expressed in a decrease in his working capacity and a deterioration in well-being. This shows that a person cannot survive in a space where this amazing mixture of gases does not exist.

All information and facts about the atmosphere only confirm its importance for people. Thanks to its presence, the possibility of the development of life on Earth appeared. Even today, having assessed the extent of the harm that mankind is capable of inflicting with its actions on the life-giving air, we should think about further measures to preserve and restore the atmosphere.

The Earth's atmosphere is one of the most protective and therefore the most important components of our planet. Sheltering us from the harsh conditions of outer space, such as solar radiation and space debris, the atmosphere is a complex structure.

Although we do not do justice to it in our everyday life, the attention of the whole world was riveted on the layers of the atmosphere in 2013, when the Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner (Felix Baumgartner) reached the stratosphere in a capsule, rising to a height of 37 km above the Earth's surface, and made a jump . His record-breaking, astounding freefall sparked a new wave of interest in space travel and atmospheric physics.

In our today's list, we will introduce you to facts about the Earth's atmosphere that are known to a few, but should become widely known, as they are very important for understanding the world around us.

We will tell you how the ozone layer was formed, how deserts form in the middle latitudes, why planes leave a white trail behind them, and much more. So put things aside for a while and check out these 25 facts about the Earth's atmosphere that are truly awesome!

25. Believe it or not, the sky is actually purple. As sunlight passes through the atmosphere, air and water particles absorb, reflect, and scatter it before we can see it.

Since the scattering prefers shorter wavelengths of light, the violet color is most strongly diffused. We think we see blue skies and not purple because our eyes are more sensitive to blue.

24. As you probably know from school, our atmosphere is almost 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and a tiny percentage of argon, carbon dioxide, neon, helium, and other gases. What you most likely didn't learn in school is that our atmosphere is the only one (aside from the magnificent discovery on comet 67P) that contains free oxygen.

Because oxygen is a highly reactive gas, it often interacts with other chemicals in space. Its pure form on Earth makes our planet habitable and therefore is the subject of a search for life on other planets.

23. Most people will probably misunderstand this question: where is more water - in the clouds or in a clear sky?

Although many people think that clouds are the main "storage" because that's where the rain comes from, most of the water is in our atmosphere in the form of invisible water vapour. For this reason, more sweat appears on our body when the level of water vapor in the air, known as humidity, rises.

22. Some global warming skeptics argue that this phenomenon is unrealistic, as their cities are getting colder. The global climate of the Earth is a combination of a wide variety of regional climatic conditions. Therefore, even if warming is observed in some parts of the planet, cooling is observed in others, and in general, the average global climate is rapidly warming up.

21. Have you ever wondered why a plane flying in the sky leaves a white trail behind it? These white trails, known as contrails or contrails, are formed when hot, moist exhaust gases from an aircraft engine mix with colder outside air. Water vapor from the exhaust freezes and becomes visible - just like our warm breath in cold weather.

A weak and rapidly disappearing contrail means that the air at this high altitude has low humidity, which is a sign of good weather. A saturated and persistent contrail indicates high humidity and may indicate a thunderstorm is approaching.

20. The atmosphere of the Earth consists of five main layers, thanks to which life is possible on our planet. The first layer, the troposphere, extends from sea level to 8 km in polar and 18 km in tropical latitudes. Most weather events occur in this layer due to the mixture of warm air that rises and falls to form clouds and wind.

19. The next layer is the stratosphere, reaching almost 50 km above sea level. Here is the ozone layer, which protects us from dangerous ultraviolet rays. Although the stratosphere is higher than the troposphere, this layer may actually be warmer due to the absorbed energy from the sun's rays.

18. The mesosphere is the middle of the five layers, extending up to 80-90 km above the Earth's surface, the temperature in which fluctuates around -118°C. Most meteorites entering our atmosphere burn up in the mesosphere.

17. Following the mesosphere comes the thermosphere, which extends up to 800 km above the Earth's surface. Within this layer lie the main regions of the ionosphere. Most satellites, as well as the International Space Station, are in the thermosphere.

16. Exosphere - the fifth and uppermost, outer layer of the atmosphere, which becomes rarer and rarer as it moves away from the Earth's surface, until it passes into the near space vacuum (until it mixes with interplanetary space). It begins at an altitude of 700 km above the Earth's surface.

The most exciting thing is that the size of this layer can increase or decrease depending on solar activity. When the Sun is calm and does not compress the layer during solar storms, the outer part of the exosphere can extend to a distance of 1000-10000 km from the Earth's surface.

15. Trade winds blow in the warmest parts of our planet, approximately between 23 ° N. latitude. and 23° S That is why most monsoons and thunderstorms are born in these unstable regions.

Beyond them there is no such strong wind. Accordingly, the minimum humidity from the oceans reaches the mainland, and dry air easily sinks to the surface of the planet, often leading to the formation of vast areas of arid deserts.

14. Most jet planes and weather balloons fly in the stratosphere. Jet planes at this altitude, with less gravity and friction, can fly faster, and weather balloons can get a better idea of ​​the storms that form lower in the troposphere.

13. Our planet has probably lost its atmosphere several times. When the Earth was covered in magma oceans, massive Earth-like interstellar objects crashed into it. These impacts (also involved in the creation of our Moon) could be responsible for the first attempts at forming the Earth's atmosphere.

12. Without various gases in its atmosphere, our planet would be too cold for human existence. Water vapor, carbon dioxide and other atmospheric gases absorb solar heat, spreading it over the surface of the planet, thereby creating a climate suitable for life.

Scientists are concerned that if too many heat-absorbing gases enter the atmosphere, the greenhouse effect will increase, spiraling out of control and creating a scorching, uninhabitable environment, as seen on Venus.

11. Air samples taken after Hurricane Carla swept over the Caribbean in 2010 showed that up to 25% of the bacteria found in it were associated with or were the same as those present in feces. Many of these bacteria, when present in the atmosphere, can collect into droplets and fall to Earth as rain. Scientists are looking at these bacteria as a possible mode of disease transmission.

10. Our notorious (and much-needed) ozone layer was formed when oxygen atoms mixed with ultraviolet solar radiation to create ozone (O3). Ozone molecules absorb most of the harmful solar radiation, preventing it from reaching us.

Despite its importance, the ozone layer was formed relatively recently - after enough life appeared in our oceans to release the amount of oxygen needed to create it.

9. The ionosphere gets its name because high-energy particles from space and our Sun help form ions that create a soft, electrical layer around the planet. This layer helped reflect radio waves until satellites were launched.

8. Acid rain, which destroys entire forests and devastates aquatic ecosystems, forms in the atmosphere when particles of sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxide mix with water vapor and fall to Earth as rain.

Both of these chemical compounds are also found in nature: sulfur dioxide is released during volcanic eruptions, and nitric oxide is produced by electrical lightning discharges.

7. Although air pressure decreases with increasing altitude, it can vary widely at the same place on the Earth. As the Sun heats the earth, the surrounding air also heats up, which rises to become a low pressure point.

As objects move from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure, air near the high pressure begins to rush in to equalize the pressure.

6. Lightning is such a powerful force that just one lightning strike can heat the surrounding air up to 30,000°C. As an electrical explosion, a lightning discharge produces a shock wave that, over long distances, degenerates into a sound wave, which we call thunder.

5. Although the wind we feel on the surface of the Earth often comes from the north and south poles, it actually forms around the equator.

Since sunlight heats the equator and nearby latitudes more, the most heating occurs here. (The sun's rays, of course, also reach the poles, although this happens at an angle and is not so active.) Heated equatorial air rises high into the atmosphere and moves towards the poles, where it descends and returns back to the equator.

4. The aurora borealis and aurora borealis, visible at high northern and southern latitudes, are caused by the reaction of ions occurring in the fourth layer of our atmosphere - the thermosphere.

When highly charged solar wind particles collide with air molecules above our magnetic poles, they glow and create magnificent light shows that are visible from both Earth and space.

3. Skydiver Felix Baumgartner made history by flying from a capsule in the upper stratosphere. Having made a jump from a height of 37 km above the Earth's surface, Baumgartner was first in free flight, flying at a speed exceeding the speed of sound. Gradually, as the air thickened, its rate of fall became less and less.

2. Sunsets often look like the glow of a fire, because small atmospheric particles scatter light, reflecting it in orange and yellow hues. The same principle underlies the formation of a rainbow.

1. In 2013, scientists found that tiny bacteria can survive and multiply high above the Earth's surface. Collected at an altitude of 8-15 km above the Earth, bacteria were found, both partially migratory and partially local, destroying organic compounds floating in the atmosphere for their nutrition.

The Earth's atmosphere is one of the most protective and therefore the most important components of our planet. Sheltering us from the harsh conditions of outer space, such as solar radiation and space debris, the atmosphere is a complex structure.

Although we do not do justice to it in our everyday life, the attention of the whole world was riveted on the layers of the atmosphere in 2013, when the Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner (Felix Baumgartner) reached the stratosphere in a capsule, rising to a height of 37 km above the Earth's surface, and made a jump . His record-breaking, astounding freefall sparked a new wave of interest in space travel and atmospheric physics.

In our today's list, we will introduce you to facts about the Earth's atmosphere that are known to a few, but should become widely known, as they are very important for understanding the world around us.

We will tell you how the ozone layer was formed, how deserts form in the middle latitudes, why planes leave a white trail behind them, and much more. So put things aside for a while and check out these 25 facts about the Earth's atmosphere that are truly awesome!

Believe it or not, the sky is actually purple. As sunlight passes through the atmosphere, air and water particles absorb it, reflect it, and scatter it before we can see it.

Since the scattering prefers shorter wavelengths of light, the violet color is most strongly diffused. We think we see blue skies and not purple because our eyes are more sensitive to blue.

Because oxygen is a highly reactive gas, it often interacts with other chemicals in space. Its pure form on Earth makes our planet habitable and therefore is the subject of a search for life on other planets.

Although many people think that clouds are the main "storage" because that's where the rain comes from, most of the water is in our atmosphere in the form of invisible water vapor. For this reason, more sweat appears on our body when the level of water vapor in the air, known as humidity, rises.

A weak and rapidly disappearing contrail means that the air at this high altitude has low humidity, which is a sign of good weather. A saturated and persistent contrail indicates high humidity and may indicate a thunderstorm is approaching.

The most exciting thing is that the size of this layer can increase or decrease depending on solar activity. When the Sun is calm and does not compress the layer during solar storms, the outer part of the exosphere can extend to a distance of 1000-10000 km from the Earth's surface.

Beyond them there is no such strong wind. Accordingly, the minimum humidity from the oceans falls on the mainland, and dry air easily sinks to the surface of the planet, often leading to the formation of vast areas of arid deserts.

Scientists are concerned that if too many heat-absorbing gases enter the atmosphere, the greenhouse effect will increase, spiraling out of control and creating a scorching, uninhabitable environment, as seen on Venus.

Despite its importance, the ozone layer was formed relatively recently - after enough life appeared in our oceans to release the amount of oxygen needed to create it.

Both of these chemical compounds are also found in nature: sulfur dioxide is released during volcanic eruptions, and nitric oxide is produced by electrical lightning discharges.

As objects move from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure, air near the high pressure begins to rush in to equalize the pressure.

Since sunlight heats the equator and nearby latitudes more, the most heating occurs here. (The sun's rays, of course, also reach the poles, although this happens at an angle and is not so active.) Heated equatorial air rises high into the atmosphere and moves towards the poles, where it descends and returns back to the equator.

When highly charged solar wind particles collide with air molecules above our magnetic poles, they glow and create magnificent light shows that are visible from both Earth and space.

Evangelista Torricelli was born on October 15, 1608 in the small Italian town of Faenza into a poor family. He was brought up by his uncle, a Benedictine monk. Further life in Rome and communication with the famous mathematician (a student of Galileo) Castelli contributed to the development of Torricelli's talent. Most of the scientist's works for the most part remained unpublished. Torricelli is one of the creators of the liquid thermometer. But the most famous experimental study of Torricelli is his experiments with mercury, which proved the existence of atmospheric pressure. The merit of the scientist is that he decided to switch to a liquid with a higher density than water - to mercury. This made it possible to make the experiments relatively easy to reproduce. However, one should not think that in the middle of the XVII century. staging and reproducing Torricelli's experiments was a simple matter. At that time it was quite difficult to make the necessary glass tubes, as evidenced by the failure of some scientists to set up similar experiments independently of Torricelli.

I ordered two copper hemispheres with a diameter of three quarters of a Magdeburg cubit (a Magdeburg cubit is 550 cm) ... Both hemispheres fully corresponded to each other. A crane was attached to one hemisphere; With this valve, you can remove air from the inside and prevent air from entering from the outside. In addition, four rings were attached to the hemispheres, through which ropes tied to a team of horses were threaded. I also ordered a leather ring to be sewn; it was saturated with a mixture of wax in turpentine; sandwiched between the hemispheres, it did not let air through them. An air pump tube was inserted into the faucet, and the air inside the ball was removed. Then it was discovered with what force both hemispheres were pressed against each other through a leather ring. The pressure of the outside air pressed them so tightly that 16 horses (with a jerk) could not separate them at all, or achieved this only with difficulty. When the hemispheres, yielding to the tension of all the strength of the horses, were separated, a roar was heard, as from a shot. But it was enough to open free access to air by turning the tap, and the hemispheres could easily be separated by hand.

"Atmospheric air pressure" - Fill the glass halfway with water, cover with a sheet of paper and turn over. Water does not pour out. How do we drink? The figure shows a liver device for sampling various liquids. When the top hole is opened, liquid begins to flow out of the liver. Pump operation. Automatic drinker for birds. Why, in fact, the liquid rushes into our mouths?

"Atmospheric pressure grade 7" - Thank you for your attention. The air envelope of the Earth is called the atmosphere. Various measurement methods. Students. Mercury barometer. Only planet Earth has an air atmosphere. Atmosphere pressure. Barometer. Atmospheric pressure at various altitudes. Types of aneroid barometers.

"Live barometers" - It is known, for example, that bacteria react to solar activity. Let's walk up the ladder of sentient beings and see who is capable of what. The flight of dragonflies can tell a lot about the state of the weather. Bees stop flying for nectar to flowers, sit in a hive and buzz. Grasshoppers can report good weather.

"Air pressure" - At low altitudes, every 12m of ascent reduces atmospheric pressure by 11 mm Hg. Consolidation. According to Pascal's calculations, the Earth's atmosphere weighs as much as a copper ball with a diameter of 10 km would weigh - five quadrillion (5000000000000000) tons! . Why water from an overturned bottle pours out jerkily, with a gurgle, and flows out of a rubber medical heating pad in an even continuous stream.

"Thermometer and barometer" - For example, infrared body temperature meters. The liquid barometer is filled with mercury or light liquids (oils, glycerine). Electronic barometer. Infrared thermometers. Liquid thermometers. Aneroid is a device for measuring atmospheric pressure, a type of barometer that operates without the aid of a liquid.

"Atmospheric pressure and altitude" - Aneroid barometer. The liver is lowered into the liquid, the upper opening is closed and removed from the liquid. 6. Autodrinker for birds. Organizational moment: greeting, goal setting and lesson motivation. Change the water once a week in the summer and once a fortnight in the winter. The pressure under the suction cup will become less than atmospheric pressure.

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