An Ocean of Air: Why the Wind Blows and Other Mysteries of the Atmosphere.AN OCEAN OF AIR: Why the Wind Blows and Other Mysteries of the Atmosphere GABRIELLE WALKER Air may be Earth's most underappreciated resource. Indeed, Earth's atmosphere “Air” redirects here. For other uses, see Air (disambiguation). Earth's atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth and retained by the Earth's gravity. It contains roughly (by molar content/volume) 78% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0. makes life possible--it is essential to the food people eat, warms the surfaces they walk on, provides a constant supply of oxygen, allows radio waves Radio waves Electromagnetic energy of the frequency range corresponding to that used in radio communications, usually 10,000 cycles per second to 300 billion cycles per second. to transmit information around the globe, and protects all living things Living Things may refer to:
Torricelli was the first to measure the weight of the atmosphere. Frenchman Antoine Lavoisier discovered the life-giving oxygen in air, and scientists used information from 19th-century theorist Svante Arrhenius to demonstrate how carbon dioxide carbon dioxide, chemical compound, CO2, a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is about one and one-half times as dense as air under ordinary conditions of temperature and pressure. traps heat in the atmosphere. Walker describes how air moves around Earth and supports aircraft and how solar flares interact with Earth's atmosphere to create breathtaking auroras. Harcourt, 2007, 272 p., hardcover, $25.00. |
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