This is an accepted version of this page
125-447: The atmosphere of Earth is composed of a layer of gas mixture that surrounds the Earth 's planetary surface (both lands and oceans ), known collectively as air , with variable quantities of suspended aerosols and particulates (which create weather features such as clouds and hazes ), all retained by Earth's gravity . The atmosphere serves as a protective buffer between
250-453: A combustion chamber of a jet engine . It may also be useful to keep the elementary reactions and chemical dissociations for calculating emissions . Each one of the assumptions listed below adds to the complexity of the problem's solution. As the density of a gas increases with rising pressure, the intermolecular forces play a more substantial role in gas behavior which results in the ideal gas law no longer providing "reasonable" results. At
375-433: A boundary marked in most places by a temperature inversion (i.e. a layer of relatively warm air above a colder one), and in others by a zone that is isothermal with height. Although variations do occur, the temperature usually declines with increasing altitude in the troposphere because the troposphere is mostly heated through energy transfer from the surface. Thus, the lowest part of the troposphere (i.e. Earth's surface)
500-538: A comprehensive listing of these exotic states of matter, see list of states of matter . The only chemical elements that are stable diatomic homonuclear molecular gases at STP are hydrogen (H 2 ), nitrogen (N 2 ), oxygen (O 2 ), and two halogens : fluorine (F 2 ) and chlorine (Cl 2 ). When grouped with the monatomic noble gases – helium (He), neon (Ne), argon (Ar), krypton (Kr), xenon (Xe), and radon (Rn) – these gases are referred to as "elemental gases". The word gas
625-425: A container of gas, the term pressure (or absolute pressure) refers to the average force per unit area that the gas exerts on the surface of the container. Within this volume, it is sometimes easier to visualize the gas particles moving in straight lines until they collide with the container (see diagram at top). The force imparted by a gas particle into the container during this collision is the change in momentum of
750-415: A corresponding change in kinetic energy . For example: Imagine you have a sealed container of a fixed-size (a constant volume), containing a fixed-number of gas particles; starting from absolute zero (the theoretical temperature at which atoms or molecules have no thermal energy, i.e. are not moving or vibrating), you begin to add energy to the system by heating the container, so that energy transfers to
875-505: A factor of 1/ e (0.368) every 7.64 km (25,100 ft), (this is called the scale height ) -- for altitudes out to around 70 km (43 mi; 230,000 ft). However, the atmosphere is more accurately modeled with a customized equation for each layer that takes gradients of temperature, molecular composition, solar radiation and gravity into account. At heights over 100 km, an atmosphere may no longer be well mixed. Then each chemical species has its own scale height. In summary,
1000-460: A few weeks, climatology studies the frequency and trends of those systems. It studies the periodicity of weather events over years to millennia, as well as changes in long-term average weather patterns, in relation to atmospheric conditions. Climatologists , those who practice climatology, study both the nature of climates – local, regional or global – and the natural or human-induced factors that cause climates to change. Climatology considers
1125-473: A greater number of particles (transition from gas to plasma ). Finally, all of the thermodynamic processes were presumed to describe uniform gases whose velocities varied according to a fixed distribution. Using a non-equilibrium situation implies the flow field must be characterized in some manner to enable a solution. One of the first attempts to expand the boundaries of the ideal gas law was to include coverage for different thermodynamic processes by adjusting
1250-513: A layer in which temperatures rise with increasing altitude. This rise in temperature is caused by the absorption of ultraviolet radiation (UV) from the Sun by the ozone layer, which restricts turbulence and mixing. Although the temperature may be −60 °C (−76 °F; 210 K) at the tropopause, the top of the stratosphere is much warmer, and may be near 0 °C. The stratospheric temperature profile creates very stable atmospheric conditions, so
1375-572: A mass of about 5.15 × 10 kg, three quarters of which is within about 11 km (6.8 mi; 36,000 ft) of the surface. The atmosphere becomes thinner with increasing altitude, with no definite boundary between the atmosphere and outer space . The Kármán line , at 100 km (62 mi) or 1.57% of Earth's radius, is often used as the border between the atmosphere and outer space. Atmospheric effects become noticeable during atmospheric reentry of spacecraft at an altitude of around 120 km (75 mi). Several layers can be distinguished in
SECTION 10
#17327660734211500-483: A million miles away, were found to be reflected light from ice crystals in the atmosphere. When light passes through Earth's atmosphere, photons interact with it through scattering . If the light does not interact with the atmosphere, it is called direct radiation and is what you see if you were to look directly at the Sun. Indirect radiation is light that has been scattered in the atmosphere. For example, on an overcast day when you cannot see your shadow, there
1625-471: A number of much more accurate equations of state have been developed for gases in specific temperature and pressure ranges. The "gas models" that are most widely discussed are "perfect gas", "ideal gas" and "real gas". Each of these models has its own set of assumptions to facilitate the analysis of a given thermodynamic system. Each successive model expands the temperature range of coverage to which it applies. The equation of state for an ideal or perfect gas
1750-479: A solid can only increase its internal energy by exciting additional vibrational modes, as the crystal lattice structure prevents both translational and rotational motion. These heated gas molecules have a greater speed range (wider distribution of speeds) with a higher average or mean speed. The variance of this distribution is due to the speeds of individual particles constantly varying, due to repeated collisions with other particles. The speed range can be described by
1875-424: A system at equilibrium. 1000 atoms a gas occupy the same space as any other 1000 atoms for any given temperature and pressure. This concept is easier to visualize for solids such as iron which are incompressible compared to gases. However, volume itself --- not specific --- is an extensive property. The symbol used to represent density in equations is ρ (rho) with SI units of kilograms per cubic meter. This term
2000-514: A theoretical understanding of them, allow possible solutions to be tested and the effects of changes in government policy evaluated. Atmospheric dynamics is the study of motion systems of meteorological importance, integrating observations at multiple locations and times and theories. Common topics studied include diverse phenomena such as thunderstorms , tornadoes , gravity waves , tropical cyclones , extratropical cyclones , jet streams , and global-scale circulations. The goal of dynamical studies
2125-593: A trace of an atmosphere on the Moon . Planetary atmospheres are affected by the varying degrees of energy received from either the Sun or their interiors, leading to the formation of dynamic weather systems such as hurricanes (on Earth), planet-wide dust storms ( on Mars ), an Earth-sized anticyclone on Jupiter (called the Great Red Spot ), and holes in the atmosphere (on Neptune). At least one extrasolar planet, HD 189733 b , has been claimed to possess such
2250-444: A variable amount of water vapor , on average around 1% at sea level, and 0.4% over the entire atmosphere. Air composition, temperature and atmospheric pressure vary with altitude . Within the atmosphere, air suitable for use in photosynthesis by terrestrial plants and respiration of terrestrial animals is found only within 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from the ground. Earth's early atmosphere consisted of accreted gases from
2375-790: A variety of gases in various settings. Their detailed studies ultimately led to a mathematical relationship among these properties expressed by the ideal gas law (see § Ideal and perfect gas section below). Gas particles are widely separated from one another, and consequently, have weaker intermolecular bonds than liquids or solids. These intermolecular forces result from electrostatic interactions between gas particles. Like-charged areas of different gas particles repel, while oppositely charged regions of different gas particles attract one another; gases that contain permanently charged ions are known as plasmas . Gaseous compounds with polar covalent bonds contain permanent charge imbalances and so experience relatively strong intermolecular forces, although
2500-632: A variety of pure gases. What distinguishes gases from liquids and solids is the vast separation of the individual gas particles . This separation usually makes a colorless gas invisible to the human observer. The gaseous state of matter occurs between the liquid and plasma states, the latter of which provides the upper-temperature boundary for gases. Bounding the lower end of the temperature scale lie degenerative quantum gases which are gaining increasing attention. High-density atomic gases super-cooled to very low temperatures are classified by their statistical behavior as either Bose gases or Fermi gases . For
2625-537: A weather system, similar to the Great Red Spot but twice as large. Hot Jupiters have been shown to be losing their atmospheres into space due to stellar radiation, much like the tails of comets. These planets may have vast differences in temperature between their day and night sides which produce supersonic winds, although the day and night sides of HD 189733b appear to have very similar temperatures, indicating that planet's atmosphere effectively redistributes
SECTION 20
#17327660734212750-549: Is 14 °C (57 °F; 287 K) or 15 °C (59 °F; 288 K), depending on the reference. The average atmospheric pressure at sea level is defined by the International Standard Atmosphere as 101325 pascals (760.00 Torr ; 14.6959 psi ; 760.00 mmHg ). This is sometimes referred to as a unit of standard atmospheres (atm) . Total atmospheric mass is 5.1480×10 kg (1.135×10 lb), about 2.5% less than would be inferred from
2875-425: Is a combination of a finite set of possible motions including translation, rotation, and vibration . This finite range of possible motions, along with the finite set of molecules in the system, leads to a finite number of microstates within the system; we call the set of all microstates an ensemble . Specific to atomic or molecular systems, we could potentially have three different kinds of ensemble, depending on
3000-406: Is about 1.2 kg/m (1.2 g/L, 0.0012 g/cm). Density is not measured directly but is calculated from measurements of temperature, pressure and humidity using the equation of state for air (a form of the ideal gas law ). Atmospheric density decreases as the altitude increases. This variation can be approximately modeled using the barometric formula . More sophisticated models are used to predict
3125-410: Is about 28.946 or 28.96 g/mol. This is decreased when the air is humid. The relative concentration of gases remains constant until about 10,000 m (33,000 ft). In general, air pressure and density decrease with altitude in the atmosphere. However, temperature has a more complicated profile with altitude and may remain relatively constant or even increase with altitude in some regions (see
3250-442: Is because clouds (H 2 O) are strong absorbers and emitters of infrared radiation. This is also why it becomes colder at night at higher elevations. The greenhouse effect is directly related to this absorption and emission effect. Some gases in the atmosphere absorb and emit infrared radiation, but do not interact with sunlight in the visible spectrum. Common examples of these are CO 2 and H 2 O. The refractive index of air
3375-1425: Is called paleoclimatology . The three major constituents of Earth's atmosphere are nitrogen , oxygen , and argon . Water vapor accounts for roughly 0.25% of the atmosphere by mass. The concentration of water vapor (a greenhouse gas) varies significantly from around 10 ppm by mole fraction in the coldest portions of the atmosphere to as much as 5% by mole fraction in hot, humid air masses, and concentrations of other atmospheric gases are typically quoted in terms of dry air (without water vapor). The remaining gases are often referred to as trace gases, among which are other greenhouse gases , principally carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Besides argon, other noble gases , neon , helium , krypton , and xenon are also present. Filtered air includes trace amounts of many other chemical compounds . Many substances of natural origin may be present in locally and seasonally variable small amounts as aerosols in an unfiltered air sample, including dust of mineral and organic composition, pollen and spores , sea spray , and volcanic ash . Various industrial pollutants also may be present as gases or aerosols, such as chlorine (elemental or in compounds), fluorine compounds and elemental mercury vapor. Sulfur compounds such as hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) may be derived from natural sources or from industrial air pollution. Mole fraction
3500-446: Is close to, but just greater than, 1. Systematic variations in the refractive index can lead to the bending of light rays over long optical paths. One example is that, under some circumstances, observers on board ships can see other vessels just over the horizon because light is refracted in the same direction as the curvature of Earth's surface. The refractive index of air depends on temperature, giving rise to refraction effects when
3625-477: Is mainly composed of extremely low densities of hydrogen, helium and several heavier molecules including nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide closer to the exobase. The atoms and molecules are so far apart that they can travel hundreds of kilometres without colliding with one another. Thus, the exosphere no longer behaves like a gas, and the particles constantly escape into space . These free-moving particles follow ballistic trajectories and may migrate in and out of
3750-445: Is no direct radiation reaching you, it has all been scattered. As another example, due to a phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering , shorter (blue) wavelengths scatter more easily than longer (red) wavelengths. This is why the sky looks blue; you are seeing scattered blue light. This is also why sunsets are red. Because the Sun is close to the horizon, the Sun's rays pass through more atmosphere than normal before reaching your eye. Much of
3875-405: Is referred to as compressibility . Like pressure and temperature, density is a state variable of a gas and the change in density during any process is governed by the laws of thermodynamics. For a static gas , the density is the same throughout the entire container. Density is therefore a scalar quantity . It can be shown by kinetic theory that the density is inversely proportional to the size of
Atmosphere of Earth - Misplaced Pages Continue
4000-512: Is so tenuous that some scientists consider it to be part of interplanetary space rather than part of the atmosphere). It extends from the thermopause (also known as the "exobase") at the top of the thermosphere to a poorly defined boundary with the solar wind and interplanetary medium . The altitude of the exobase varies from about 500 kilometres (310 mi; 1,600,000 ft) to about 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) in times of higher incoming solar radiation. The upper limit varies depending on
4125-479: Is sometimes referred to as volume fraction ; these are identical for an ideal gas only. ppm: parts per million by molecular count The concentration of CO 2 has been increasing in recent decades , as has that of CH 4 . Water vapor is about 0.25% by mass over full atmosphere Water vapor varies significantly locally The average molecular weight of dry air, which can be used to calculate densities or to convert between mole fraction and mass fraction,
4250-473: Is sometimes used as an alternative term for the study of Earth's atmosphere; in other definitions, aerology is restricted to the free atmosphere , the region above the planetary boundary layer . Early pioneers in the field include Léon Teisserenc de Bort and Richard Assmann . Atmospheric chemistry is a branch of atmospheric science in which the chemistry of the Earth's atmosphere and that of other planets
4375-415: Is studied. It is a multidisciplinary field of research and draws on environmental chemistry, physics, meteorology, computer modeling, oceanography, geology and volcanology and other disciplines. Research is increasingly connected with other areas of study such as climatology. The composition and chemistry of the atmosphere is of importance for several reasons, but primarily because of the interactions between
4500-414: Is the ideal gas law and reads where P is the pressure, V is the volume, n is amount of gas (in mol units), R is the universal gas constant , 8.314 J/(mol K), and T is the temperature. Written this way, it is sometimes called the "chemist's version", since it emphasizes the number of molecules n . It can also be written as where R s {\displaystyle R_{s}}
4625-414: Is the reciprocal of specific volume. Since gas molecules can move freely within a container, their mass is normally characterized by density. Density is the amount of mass per unit volume of a substance, or the inverse of specific volume. For gases, the density can vary over a wide range because the particles are free to move closer together when constrained by pressure or volume. This variation of density
4750-404: Is the key to connection between the microscopic states of a system and the macroscopic variables which we can measure, such as temperature, pressure, heat capacity, internal energy, enthalpy, and entropy, just to name a few. ( Read : Partition function Meaning and significance ) Using the partition function to find the energy of a molecule, or system of molecules, can sometimes be approximated by
4875-460: Is the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere. It extends from Earth's surface to an average height of about 12 km (7.5 mi; 39,000 ft), although this altitude varies from about 9 km (5.6 mi; 30,000 ft) at the geographic poles to 17 km (11 mi; 56,000 ft) at the Equator , with some variation due to weather. The troposphere is bounded above by the tropopause ,
5000-403: Is the reason why modeling a "real gas" is more mathematically difficult than an " ideal gas". Ignoring these proximity-dependent forces allows a real gas to be treated like an ideal gas , which greatly simplifies calculation. The intermolecular attractions and repulsions between two gas molecules depend on the distance between them. The combined attractions and repulsions are well-modelled by
5125-405: Is the scientific study of the upper atmosphere of the Earth — the atmospheric layers above the stratopause — and corresponding regions of the atmospheres of other planets, where the entire atmosphere may correspond to the Earth's upper atmosphere or a portion of it. A branch of both atmospheric chemistry and atmospheric physics, aeronomy contrasts with meteorology, which focuses on the layers of
Atmosphere of Earth - Misplaced Pages Continue
5250-426: Is the specific gas constant for a particular gas, in units J/(kg K), and ρ = m/V is density. This notation is the "gas dynamicist's" version, which is more practical in modeling of gas flows involving acceleration without chemical reactions. The ideal gas law does not make an assumption about the heat capacity of a gas. In the most general case, the specific heat is a function of both temperature and pressure. If
5375-569: Is the study of the upper layers of the atmosphere, where dissociation and ionization are important. Atmospheric science has been extended to the field of planetary science and the study of the atmospheres of the planets and natural satellites of the Solar System . Experimental instruments used in atmospheric science include satellites , rocketsondes , radiosondes , weather balloons , radars , and lasers . The term aerology (from Greek ἀήρ, aēr , " air "; and -λογία, -logia )
5500-400: Is to explain the observed circulations on the basis of fundamental principles from physics . The objectives of such studies incorporate improving weather forecasting , developing methods for predicting seasonal and interannual climate fluctuations, and understanding the implications of human-induced perturbations (e.g., increased carbon dioxide concentrations or depletion of the ozone layer) on
5625-412: Is too low to conduct a significant amount of energy to or from the skin. This layer is completely cloudless and free of water vapor. However, non-hydrometeorological phenomena such as the aurora borealis and aurora australis are occasionally seen in the thermosphere. The International Space Station orbits in this layer, between 350 and 420 km (220 and 260 mi). It is this layer where many of
5750-413: Is typical to speak of intensive and extensive properties . Properties which depend on the amount of gas (either by mass or volume) are called extensive properties, while properties that do not depend on the amount of gas are called intensive properties. Specific volume is an example of an intensive property because it is the ratio of volume occupied by a unit of mass of a gas that is identical throughout
5875-421: Is typical to specify a frame of reference or length scale . A larger length scale corresponds to a macroscopic or global point of view of the gas. This region (referred to as a volume) must be sufficient in size to contain a large sampling of gas particles. The resulting statistical analysis of this sample size produces the "average" behavior (i.e. velocity, temperature or pressure) of all the gas particles within
6000-478: Is typically the warmest section of the troposphere. This promotes vertical mixing (hence, the origin of its name in the Greek word τρόπος, tropos , meaning "turn"). The troposphere contains roughly 80% of the mass of Earth's atmosphere. The troposphere is denser than all its overlying layers because a larger atmospheric weight sits on top of the troposphere and causes it to be most severely compressed. Fifty percent of
6125-597: The Equipartition theorem , which greatly-simplifies calculation. However, this method assumes all molecular degrees of freedom are equally populated, and therefore equally utilized for storing energy within the molecule. It would imply that internal energy changes linearly with temperature, which is not the case. This ignores the fact that heat capacity changes with temperature, due to certain degrees of freedom being unreachable (a.k.a. "frozen out") at lower temperatures. As internal energy of molecules increases, so does
6250-582: The F-layer of the ionosphere where they encounter enough atmospheric drag to require reboosts every few months, otherwise, orbital decay will occur resulting in a return to Earth. Depending on solar activity, satellites can experience noticeable atmospheric drag at altitudes as high as 700–800 km. The division of the atmosphere into layers mostly by reference to temperature is discussed above. Temperature decreases with altitude starting at sea level, but variations in this trend begin above 11 km, where
6375-546: The Lennard-Jones potential , which is one of the most extensively studied of all interatomic potentials describing the potential energy of molecular systems. Due to the general applicability and importance, the Lennard-Jones model system is often referred to as 'Lennard-Jonesium'. The Lennard-Jones potential between molecules can be broken down into two separate components: a long-distance attraction due to
SECTION 50
#17327660734216500-601: The London dispersion force , and a short-range repulsion due to electron-electron exchange interaction (which is related to the Pauli exclusion principle ). When two molecules are relatively distant (meaning they have a high potential energy), they experience a weak attracting force, causing them to move toward each other, lowering their potential energy. However, if the molecules are too far away, then they would not experience attractive force of any significance. Additionally, if
6625-475: The Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution . Use of this distribution implies ideal gases near thermodynamic equilibrium for the system of particles being considered. The symbol used to represent specific volume in equations is "v" with SI units of cubic meters per kilogram. The symbol used to represent volume in equations is "V" with SI units of cubic meters. When performing a thermodynamic analysis, it
6750-458: The compressibility factor Z is set to 1 meaning that this pneumatic ratio remains constant. A compressibility factor of one also requires the four state variables to follow the ideal gas law . This approximation is more suitable for applications in engineering although simpler models can be used to produce a "ball-park" range as to where the real solution should lie. An example where the "ideal gas approximation" would be suitable would be inside
6875-588: The infrared to around 1100 nm. There are also infrared and radio windows that transmit some infrared and radio waves at longer wavelengths. For example, the radio window runs from about one centimetre to about eleven-metre waves. Emission is the opposite of absorption, it is when an object emits radiation. Objects tend to emit amounts and wavelengths of radiation depending on their " black body " emission curves, therefore hotter objects tend to emit more radiation, with shorter wavelengths. Colder objects emit less radiation, with longer wavelengths. For example,
7000-411: The macroscopic properties of pressure and volume of a gas. His experiment used a J-tube manometer which looks like a test tube in the shape of the letter J. Boyle trapped an inert gas in the closed end of the test tube with a column of mercury , thereby making the number of particles and the temperature constant. He observed that when the pressure was increased in the gas, by adding more mercury to
7125-432: The magnetosphere or the solar wind. Every second, the Earth loses about 3 kg of hydrogen, 50 g of helium, and much smaller amounts of other constituents. The exosphere is too far above Earth for meteorological phenomena to be possible. However, Earth's auroras —the aurora borealis (northern lights) and aurora australis (southern lights)—sometimes occur in the lower part of the exosphere, where they overlap into
7250-400: The mesopause that marks the top of this middle layer of the atmosphere. It is the coldest place on Earth and has an average temperature around −85 °C (−120 °F ; 190 K ). Just below the mesopause, the air is so cold that even the very scarce water vapor at this altitude can condense into polar-mesospheric noctilucent clouds of ice particles. These are the highest clouds in
7375-451: The solar nebula , but the atmosphere changed significantly over time, affected by many factors such as volcanism , impact events , weathering and the evolution of life (particularly the photoautotrophs ). Recently, human activity has also contributed to atmospheric changes , such as climate change (mainly through deforestation and fossil fuel -related global warming ), ozone depletion and acid deposition . The atmosphere has
7500-427: The temperature section). Because the general pattern of the temperature/altitude profile, or lapse rate , is constant and measurable by means of instrumented balloon soundings , the temperature behavior provides a useful metric to distinguish atmospheric layers. This atmospheric stratification divides the Earth's atmosphere into five main layers: The exosphere is the outermost layer of Earth's atmosphere (though it
7625-511: The tropopause . This layer extends from the top of the troposphere at roughly 12 km (7.5 mi; 39,000 ft) above Earth's surface to the stratopause at an altitude of about 50 to 55 km (31 to 34 mi; 164,000 to 180,000 ft). The atmospheric pressure at the top of the stratosphere is roughly 1/1000 the pressure at sea level . It contains the ozone layer , which is the part of Earth's atmosphere that contains relatively high concentrations of that gas. The stratosphere defines
SECTION 60
#17327660734217750-657: The Earth's surface and outer space , shields the surface from most meteoroids and ultraviolet solar radiation , keeps it warm and reduces diurnal temperature variation (temperature extremes between day and night ) through heat retention ( greenhouse effect ), redistributes heat and moisture among different regions via air currents , and provides the chemical and climate conditions allowing life to exist and evolve on Earth. By mole fraction (i.e., by quantity of molecules ), dry air contains 78.08% nitrogen , 20.95% oxygen , 0.93% argon , 0.04% carbon dioxide , and small amounts of other trace gases . Air also contains
7875-727: The French-American historian Jacques Barzun speculated that Van Helmont had borrowed the word from the German Gäscht , meaning the froth resulting from fermentation . Because most gases are difficult to observe directly, they are described through the use of four physical properties or macroscopic characteristics: pressure , volume , number of particles (chemists group them by moles ) and temperature. These four characteristics were repeatedly observed by scientists such as Robert Boyle , Jacques Charles , John Dalton , Joseph Gay-Lussac and Amedeo Avogadro for
8000-573: The Kármán line, significant atmospheric effects such as auroras still occur. Meteors begin to glow in this region, though the larger ones may not burn up until they penetrate more deeply. The various layers of Earth's ionosphere , important to HF radio propagation, begin below 100 km and extend beyond 500 km. By comparison, the International Space Station and Space Shuttle typically orbit at 350–400 km, within
8125-459: The Sun is approximately 6,000 K (5,730 °C ; 10,340 °F ), its radiation peaks near 500 nm, and is visible to the human eye. Earth is approximately 290 K (17 °C; 62 °F), so its radiation peaks near 10,000 nm, and is much too long to be visible to humans. Because of its temperature, the atmosphere emits infrared radiation. For example, on clear nights Earth's surface cools down faster than on cloudy nights. This
8250-408: The ability to store energy within additional degrees of freedom. As more degrees of freedom become available to hold energy, this causes the molar heat capacity of the substance to increase. Brownian motion is the mathematical model used to describe the random movement of particles suspended in a fluid. The gas particle animation, using pink and green particles, illustrates how this behavior results in
8375-418: The above stated effects which cause these attractions and repulsions, real gases , delineate from the ideal gas model by the following generalization: An equation of state (for gases) is a mathematical model used to roughly describe or predict the state properties of a gas. At present, there is no single equation of state that accurately predicts the properties of all gases under all conditions. Therefore,
8500-420: The aptly-named thermosphere above 90 km. Because in an ideal gas of constant composition the speed of sound depends only on temperature and not on pressure or density, the speed of sound in the atmosphere with altitude takes on the form of the complicated temperature profile (see illustration to the right), and does not mirror altitudinal changes in density or pressure. The density of air at sea level
8625-421: The atmosphere also cools by emitting radiation, as discussed below. The combined absorption spectra of the gases in the atmosphere leave "windows" of low opacity , allowing the transmission of only certain bands of light. The optical window runs from around 300 nm ( ultraviolet -C) up into the range humans can see, the visible spectrum (commonly called light), at roughly 400–700 nm and continues to
8750-409: The atmosphere and living organisms. The composition of the Earth's atmosphere has been changed by human activity and some of these changes are harmful to human health, crops and ecosystems. Examples of problems which have been addressed by atmospheric chemistry include acid rain, photochemical smog and global warming. Atmospheric chemistry seeks to understand the causes of these problems, and by obtaining
8875-399: The atmosphere and may be visible to the naked eye if sunlight reflects off them about an hour or two after sunset or similarly before sunrise. They are most readily visible when the Sun is around 4 to 16 degrees below the horizon. Lightning-induced discharges known as transient luminous events (TLEs) occasionally form in the mesosphere above tropospheric thunderclouds . The mesosphere is also
9000-488: The atmosphere based on characteristics such as temperature and composition, namely the troposphere , stratosphere , mesosphere , thermosphere (formally the ionosphere ) and exosphere . The study of Earth's atmosphere and its processes is called atmospheric science (aerology), and includes multiple subfields, such as climatology and atmospheric physics . Early pioneers in the field include Léon Teisserenc de Bort and Richard Assmann . The study of historic atmosphere
9125-481: The atmosphere below the stratopause. In atmospheric regions studied by aeronomers, chemical dissociation and ionization are important phenomena. All of the Solar System's planets have atmospheres. This is because their gravity is strong enough to keep gaseous particles close to the surface. Larger gas giants are massive enough to keep large amounts of the light gases hydrogen and helium close by, while
9250-444: The attractive London-dispersion force. If the two molecules collide, they are moving too fast and their kinetic energy will be much greater than any attractive potential energy, so they will only experience repulsion upon colliding. Thus, attractions between molecules can be neglected at high temperatures due to high speeds. At high temperatures, and high pressures, repulsion is the dominant intermolecular interaction. Accounting for
9375-636: The average sea level pressure and Earth's area of 51007.2 megahectares, this portion being displaced by Earth's mountainous terrain. Atmospheric pressure is the total weight of the air above unit area at the point where the pressure is measured. Thus air pressure varies with location and weather . If the entire mass of the atmosphere had a uniform density equal to sea level density (about 1.2 kg per m) from sea level upwards, it would terminate abruptly at an altitude of 8.50 km (27,900 ft). Air pressure actually decreases exponentially with altitude, dropping by half every 5.6 km (18,000 ft) or by
9500-414: The blue light has been scattered out, leaving the red light in a sunset. Different molecules absorb different wavelengths of radiation. For example, O 2 and O 3 absorb almost all radiation with wavelengths shorter than 300 nanometres . Water (H 2 O) absorbs at many wavelengths above 700 nm. When a molecule absorbs a photon, it increases the energy of the molecule. This heats the atmosphere, but
9625-429: The column, the trapped gas' volume decreased (this is known as an inverse relationship). Furthermore, when Boyle multiplied the pressure and volume of each observation, the product was constant. This relationship held for every gas that Boyle observed leading to the law, (PV=k), named to honor his work in this field. There are many mathematical tools available for analyzing gas properties. Boyle's lab equipment allowed
9750-491: The compound's net charge remains neutral. Transient, randomly induced charges exist across non-polar covalent bonds of molecules and electrostatic interactions caused by them are referred to as Van der Waals forces . The interaction of these intermolecular forces varies within a substance which determines many of the physical properties unique to each gas. A comparison of boiling points for compounds formed by ionic and covalent bonds leads us to this conclusion. Compared to
9875-410: The container in which a fixed mass of gas is confined. In this case of a fixed mass, the density decreases as the volume increases. If one could observe a gas under a powerful microscope, one would see a collection of particles without any definite shape or volume that are in more or less random motion. These gas particles only change direction when they collide with another particle or with the sides of
10000-466: The container. This microscopic view of gas is well-described by statistical mechanics , but it can be described by many different theories. The kinetic theory of gases , which makes the assumption that these collisions are perfectly elastic , does not account for intermolecular forces of attraction and repulsion. Kinetic theory provides insight into the macroscopic properties of gases by considering their molecular composition and motion. Starting with
10125-412: The definition. Various authorities consider it to end at about 10,000 kilometres (6,200 mi) or about 190,000 kilometres (120,000 mi)—about halfway to the moon, where the influence of Earth's gravity is about the same as radiation pressure from sunlight. The geocorona visible in the far ultraviolet (caused by neutral hydrogen) extends to at least 100,000 kilometres (62,000 mi). This layer
10250-479: The definitions of momentum and kinetic energy , one can use the conservation of momentum and geometric relationships of a cube to relate macroscopic system properties of temperature and pressure to the microscopic property of kinetic energy per molecule. The theory provides averaged values for these two properties. The kinetic theory of gases can help explain how the system (the collection of gas particles being considered) responds to changes in temperature, with
10375-624: The design and construction of instruments for studying the atmosphere and the interpretation of the data they provide, including remote sensing instruments. In the United Kingdom, atmospheric studies are underpinned by the Meteorological Office. Divisions of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) oversee research projects and weather modeling involving atmospheric physics. The U.S. National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center also carries out studies of
10500-522: The equation to read pV = constant and then varying the n through different values such as the specific heat ratio , γ . Real gas effects include those adjustments made to account for a greater range of gas behavior: For most applications, such a detailed analysis is excessive. Examples where real gas effects would have a significant impact would be on the Space Shuttle re-entry where extremely high temperatures and pressures were present or
10625-433: The gas molecules are so far apart that its temperature in the usual sense is not very meaningful. The air is so rarefied that an individual molecule (of oxygen , for example) travels an average of 1 kilometre (0.62 mi; 3300 ft) between collisions with other molecules. Although the thermosphere has a high proportion of molecules with high energy, it would not feel hot to a human in direct contact, because its density
10750-439: The gas system in question, makes it possible to solve such complex dynamic situations as space vehicle reentry. An example is the analysis of the space shuttle reentry pictured to ensure the material properties under this loading condition are appropriate. In this flight situation, the gas is no longer behaving ideally. The symbol used to represent pressure in equations is "p" or "P" with SI units of pascals . When describing
10875-528: The gases produced during geological events as in the image of the 1990 eruption of Mount Redoubt . Atmospheric science Atmospheric science is the study of the Earth's atmosphere and its various inner-working physical processes. Meteorology includes atmospheric chemistry and atmospheric physics with a major focus on weather forecasting . Climatology is the study of atmospheric changes (both long and short-term) that define average climates and their change over time climate variability . Aeronomy
11000-689: The global climate. Atmospheric physics is the application of physics to the study of the atmosphere. Atmospheric physicists attempt to model Earth's atmosphere and the atmospheres of the other planets using fluid flow equations, chemical models, radiation balancing, and energy transfer processes in the atmosphere and underlying oceans and land. In order to model weather systems, atmospheric physicists employ elements of scattering theory, wave propagation models, cloud physics , statistical mechanics and spatial statistics , each of which incorporate high levels of mathematics and physics. Atmospheric physics has close links to meteorology and climatology and also covers
11125-517: The high atmosphere. The Earth's magnetic field and the solar wind interact with the atmosphere, creating the ionosphere , Van Allen radiation belts , telluric currents , and radiant energy . Is a science that bases its more general knowledge of the more specialized disciplines of meteorology, oceanography, geology, and astronomy, which in turn are based on the basic sciences of physics, chemistry, and mathematics. In contrast to meteorology , which studies short term weather systems lasting up to
11250-403: The layer where most meteors burn up upon atmospheric entrance. It is too high above Earth to be accessible to jet-powered aircraft and balloons, and too low to permit orbital spacecraft. The mesosphere is mainly accessed by sounding rockets and rocket-powered aircraft . The stratosphere is the second-lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere. It lies above the troposphere and is separated from it by
11375-481: The mass of Earth's atmosphere is distributed approximately as follows: By comparison, the summit of Mount Everest is at 8,848 m (29,029 ft); commercial airliners typically cruise between 10 and 13 km (33,000 and 43,000 ft) where the lower density and temperature of the air improve fuel economy; weather balloons reach 30.4 km (100,000 ft) and above; and the highest X-15 flight in 1963 reached 108.0 km (354,300 ft). Even above
11500-593: The microscopic behavior of molecules in any system, and therefore, are necessary for accurately predicting the physical properties of gases (and liquids) across wide variations in physical conditions. Arising from the study of physical chemistry , one of the most prominent intermolecular forces throughout physics, are van der Waals forces . Van der Waals forces play a key role in determining nearly all physical properties of fluids such as viscosity , flow rate , and gas dynamics (see physical characteristics section). The van der Waals interactions between gas molecules,
11625-508: The molecules get too close then they will collide, and experience a very high repulsive force (modelled by Hard spheres ) which is a much stronger force than the attractions, so that any attraction due to proximity is disregarded. As two molecules approach each other, from a distance that is neither too-far, nor too-close, their attraction increases as the magnitude of their potential energy increases (becoming more negative), and lowers their total internal energy. The attraction causing
11750-473: The molecules into close proximity, and raising the pressure, the repulsions will begin to dominate over the attractions, as the rate at which collisions are happening will increase significantly. Therefore, at low temperatures, and low pressures, attraction is the dominant intermolecular interaction. If two molecules are moving at high speeds, in arbitrary directions, along non-intersecting paths, then they will not spend enough time in proximity to be affected by
11875-420: The molecules to get closer, can only happen if the molecules remain in proximity for the duration of time it takes to physically move closer. Therefore, the attractive forces are strongest when the molecules move at low speeds . This means that the attraction between molecules is significant when gas temperatures is low . However, if you were to isothermally compress this cold gas into a small volume, forcing
12000-510: The more exotic operating environments where the gases no longer behave in an "ideal" manner. As gases are subjected to extreme conditions, tools to interpret them become more complex, from the Euler equations for inviscid flow to the Navier–Stokes equations that fully account for viscous effects. This advanced math, including statistics and multivariable calculus , adapted to the conditions of
12125-511: The orbital decay of satellites. The average mass of the atmosphere is about 5 quadrillion (5 × 10) tonnes or 1/1,200,000 the mass of Earth. According to the American National Center for Atmospheric Research , "The total mean mass of the atmosphere is 5.1480 × 10 kg with an annual range due to water vapor of 1.2 or 1.5 × 10 kg, depending on whether surface pressure or water vapor data are used; somewhat smaller than
12250-514: The other states of matter, gases have low density and viscosity . Pressure and temperature influence the particles within a certain volume. This variation in particle separation and speed is referred to as compressibility . This particle separation and size influences optical properties of gases as can be found in the following list of refractive indices . Finally, gas particles spread apart or diffuse in order to homogeneously distribute themselves throughout any container. When observing gas, it
12375-422: The particle. During a collision only the normal component of velocity changes. A particle traveling parallel to the wall does not change its momentum. Therefore, the average force on a surface must be the average change in linear momentum from all of these gas particle collisions. Pressure is the sum of all the normal components of force exerted by the particles impacting the walls of the container divided by
12500-521: The particle. The particle (generally consisting of millions or billions of atoms) thus moves in a jagged course, yet not so jagged as would be expected if an individual gas molecule were examined. Forces between two or more molecules or atoms, either attractive or repulsive, are called intermolecular forces . Intermolecular forces are experienced by molecules when they are within physical proximity of one another. These forces are very important for properly modeling molecular systems, as to accurately predict
12625-477: The particles (molecules and atoms) which make up the [gas] system. In statistical mechanics , temperature is the measure of the average kinetic energy stored in a molecule (also known as the thermal energy). The methods of storing this energy are dictated by the degrees of freedom of the molecule itself ( energy modes ). Thermal (kinetic) energy added to a gas or liquid (an endothermic process) produces translational, rotational, and vibrational motion. In contrast,
12750-409: The particles inside. Once their internal energy is above zero-point energy , meaning their kinetic energy (also known as thermal energy ) is non-zero, the gas particles will begin to move around the container. As the box is further heated (as more energy is added), the individual particles increase their average speed as the system's total internal energy increases. The higher average-speed of all
12875-417: The particles leads to a greater rate at which collisions happen (i.e. greater number of collisions per unit of time), between particles and the container, as well as between the particles themselves. The macro scopic, measurable quantity of pressure, is the direct result of these micro scopic particle collisions with the surface, over which, individual molecules exert a small force, each contributing to
13000-621: The past and tries to predict future climate change . Phenomena of climatological interest include the atmospheric boundary layer , circulation patterns , heat transfer ( radiative , convective and latent ), interactions between the atmosphere and the oceans and land surface (particularly vegetation , land use and topography ), and the chemical and physical composition of the atmosphere. Related disciplines include astrophysics , atmospheric physics , chemistry , ecology , physical geography , geology , geophysics , glaciology , hydrology , oceanography , and volcanology . Aeronomy
13125-407: The pressure-dependence is neglected (and possibly the temperature-dependence as well) in a particular application, sometimes the gas is said to be a perfect gas , although the exact assumptions may vary depending on the author and/or field of science. For an ideal gas, the ideal gas law applies without restrictions on the specific heat. An ideal gas is a simplified "real gas" with the assumption that
13250-522: The previous estimate. The mean mass of water vapor is estimated as 1.27 × 10 kg and the dry air mass as 5.1352 ±0.0003 × 10 kg." Solar radiation (or sunlight) is the energy Earth receives from the Sun . Earth also emits radiation back into space, but at longer wavelengths that humans cannot see. Part of the incoming and emitted radiation is absorbed or reflected by the atmosphere. In May 2017, glints of light, seen as twinkling from an orbiting satellite
13375-400: The region. In contrast, a smaller length scale corresponds to a microscopic or particle point of view. Macroscopically, the gas characteristics measured are either in terms of the gas particles themselves (velocity, pressure, or temperature) or their surroundings (volume). For example, Robert Boyle studied pneumatic chemistry for a small portion of his career. One of his experiments related
13500-422: The satellites orbiting the Earth are present. The mesosphere is the third highest layer of Earth's atmosphere, occupying the region above the stratosphere and below the thermosphere. It extends from the stratopause at an altitude of about 50 km (31 mi; 160,000 ft) to the mesopause at 80–85 km (50–53 mi; 260,000–280,000 ft) above sea level. Temperatures drop with increasing altitude to
13625-467: The situation: microcanonical ensemble , canonical ensemble , or grand canonical ensemble . Specific combinations of microstates within an ensemble are how we truly define macrostate of the system (temperature, pressure, energy, etc.). In order to do that, we must first count all microstates though use of a partition function . The use of statistical mechanics and the partition function is an important tool throughout all of physical chemistry, because it
13750-421: The smaller planets lose these gases into space . The composition of the Earth's atmosphere is different from the other planets because the various life processes that have transpired on the planet have introduced free molecular oxygen . Much of Mercury's atmosphere has been blasted away by the solar wind . The only moon that has retained a dense atmosphere is Titan . There is a thin atmosphere on Triton , and
13875-513: The spreading out of gases ( entropy ). These events are also described by particle theory . Since it is at the limit of (or beyond) current technology to observe individual gas particles (atoms or molecules), only theoretical calculations give suggestions about how they move, but their motion is different from Brownian motion because Brownian motion involves a smooth drag due to the frictional force of many gas molecules, punctuated by violent collisions of an individual (or several) gas molecule(s) with
14000-447: The stratosphere lacks the weather-producing air turbulence that is so prevalent in the troposphere. Consequently, the stratosphere is almost completely free of clouds and other forms of weather. However, polar stratospheric or nacreous clouds are occasionally seen in the lower part of this layer of the atmosphere where the air is coldest. The stratosphere is the highest layer that can be accessed by jet-powered aircraft . The troposphere
14125-404: The surface area of the wall. The symbol used to represent temperature in equations is T with SI units of kelvins . The speed of a gas particle is proportional to its absolute temperature . The volume of the balloon in the video shrinks when the trapped gas particles slow down with the addition of extremely cold nitrogen. The temperature of any physical system is related to the motions of
14250-493: The system. However, in real gases and other real substances, the motions which define the kinetic energy of a system (which collectively determine the temperature), are much more complex than simple linear translation due to the more complex structure of molecules, compared to single atoms which act similarly to point-masses . In real thermodynamic systems, quantum phenomena play a large role in determining thermal motions. The random, thermal motions (kinetic energy) in molecules
14375-470: The temperature gradient is large. An example of such effects is the mirage . Gas Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter . The others are solid , liquid , and plasma . A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon ), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen ), or compound molecules made from a variety of atoms (e.g. carbon dioxide ). A gas mixture , such as air , contains
14500-444: The temperature stabilizes over a large vertical distance through the rest of the troposphere. In the stratosphere , starting above about 20 km, the temperature increases with height, due to heating within the ozone layer caused by the capture of significant ultraviolet radiation from the Sun by the dioxygen and ozone gas in this region. Still another region of increasing temperature with altitude occurs at very high altitudes, in
14625-441: The thermopause varies considerably due to changes in solar activity. Because the thermopause lies at the lower boundary of the exosphere, it is also referred to as the exobase . The lower part of the thermosphere, from 80 to 550 kilometres (50 to 342 mi) above Earth's surface, contains the ionosphere . The temperature of the thermosphere gradually increases with height and can rise as high as 1500 °C (2700 °F), though
14750-429: The thermosphere. The exosphere contains many of the artificial satellites that orbit Earth. The thermosphere is the second-highest layer of Earth's atmosphere. It extends from the mesopause (which separates it from the mesosphere) at an altitude of about 80 km (50 mi; 260,000 ft) up to the thermopause at an altitude range of 500–1000 km (310–620 mi; 1,600,000–3,300,000 ft). The height of
14875-434: The total force applied within a specific area. ( Read § Pressure . ) Likewise, the macroscopically measurable quantity of temperature , is a quantification of the overall amount of motion, or kinetic energy that the particles exhibit. ( Read § Temperature . ) In the kinetic theory of gases , kinetic energy is assumed to purely consist of linear translations according to a speed distribution of particles in
15000-419: The total mass of the atmosphere is located in the lower 5.6 km (3.5 mi; 18,000 ft) of the troposphere. Nearly all atmospheric water vapor or moisture is found in the troposphere, so it is the layer where most of Earth's weather takes place. It has basically all the weather-associated cloud genus types generated by active wind circulation, although very tall cumulonimbus thunder clouds can penetrate
15125-430: The tropopause from below and rise into the lower part of the stratosphere. Most conventional aviation activity takes place in the troposphere, and it is the only layer accessible by propeller-driven aircraft . Within the five principal layers above, which are largely determined by temperature, several secondary layers may be distinguished by other properties: The average temperature of the atmosphere at Earth's surface
15250-407: The upper end of the engine temperature ranges (e.g. combustor sections – 1300 K), the complex fuel particles absorb internal energy by means of rotations and vibrations that cause their specific heats to vary from those of diatomic molecules and noble gases. At more than double that temperature, electronic excitation and dissociation of the gas particles begins to occur causing the pressure to adjust to
15375-411: The use of just a simple calculation to obtain his analytical results. His results were possible because he was studying gases in relatively low pressure situations where they behaved in an "ideal" manner. These ideal relationships apply to safety calculations for a variety of flight conditions on the materials in use. However, the high technology equipment in use today was designed to help us safely explore
15500-543: Was first used by the early 17th-century Flemish chemist Jan Baptist van Helmont . He identified carbon dioxide , the first known gas other than air. Van Helmont's word appears to have been simply a phonetic transcription of the Ancient Greek word χάος ' chaos ' – the g in Dutch being pronounced like ch in " loch " (voiceless velar fricative, / x / ) – in which case Van Helmont simply
15625-500: Was following the established alchemical usage first attested in the works of Paracelsus . According to Paracelsus's terminology, chaos meant something like ' ultra-rarefied water ' . An alternative story is that Van Helmont's term was derived from " gahst (or geist ), which signifies a ghost or spirit". That story is given no credence by the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary . In contrast,
#420579