User:Milton Beychok/Sandbox: Difference between revisions
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{{dambigbox|Air|Air}} | {{dambigbox|Air|Air}} | ||
{{Image|Clean Air.jpg|right|250px|Landscape with clear air and and clouds}} | |||
{{main|Earth's atmosphere}} | {{main|Earth's atmosphere}} | ||
'''Air''' is a colorless, odorless and tasteless mixture of [[gas]]es consisting mostly of [[nitrogen]] (N<sub>2</sub>) and [[oxygen]] (O<sub>2</sub>). It is the part of [[Earth's atmosphere]] that [[human]]s and all other [[animal]]s breathe in order to obtain the oxygen needed to sustain [[life]]. | '''Air''' is a colorless, odorless and tasteless mixture of [[gas]]es consisting mostly of [[nitrogen]] (N<sub>2</sub>) and [[oxygen]] (O<sub>2</sub>). It is the part of [[Earth's atmosphere]] that [[human]]s and all other [[animal]]s breathe in order to obtain the oxygen needed to sustain [[life]]. | ||
The Earth's atmosphere not only contains the air we breathe, it also holds clouds of moisture (water vapor) that become the [[water]] we drink. Furthermore, it protects us from meteors and harmful solar radiation and warms the Earth's surface by heat retention. In effect, the atmosphere is an envelope that protects all life on Earth. | |||
== Composition of the atmospheric air == | |||
{{main|Atmospheric chemistry}} | |||
The adjacent table lists the concentration of 14 gases present in filtered dry air. Two of the gases, nitrogen and oxygen make up 99.03 percent of the clean, dry air. The other listed gases total to 0.97 percent. | |||
{| border="0" width="390" align="right" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="wrap=no" | |||
| | |||
{| class = "wikitable" align="right" | |||
|+ Composition of Dry Air <ref>[http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/jetstream/atmos/atmos_intro.htm The Atmosphere] From the website of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service (NWS), Last updated May 5, 2009</ref> | |||
!colspan="2"|Gas!!Colspan="2"|Concentration | |||
|- | |||
!Name!!Symbol!!Volume %!!ppmv | |||
|- | |||
|[[Nitrogen]]|| align="center"|N<sub>2</sub>|| align="center"| 78.084|| align="center"| 780,840 | |||
|- | |||
|[[Oxygen]]|| align="center"|O<sub>2</sub>|| align="center"| 20.947|| align="center"| 209,470 | |||
|- | |||
|[[Argon]]|| align="center"|Ar|| align="center"|0.934|| align="center"|9,340 | |||
|- | |||
|[[Carbon dioxide]]|| align="center"|CO<sub>2</sub>|| align="center"|0.033|| align="center"|330 | |||
|- | |||
|[[Neon]]|| align="center"|Ne|| align="center"|0.001820|| align="center"|18.20 | |||
|- | |||
|[[Helium]]|| align="center"|He|| align="center"|0.000520|| align="center"|5.20 | |||
|- | |||
|[[Methane]]|| align="center"|CH<sub>4</sub>|| align="center"|0.000200|| align="center"|2.00 | |||
|- | |||
|[[Krypton]]|| align="center"|Kr|| align="center"|0.000110|| align="center"|1.10 | |||
|- | |||
|[[Sulfur dioxide]]|| align="center"|SO<sub>2</sub>|| align="center"|0.000100|| align="center"|1.00 | |||
|- | |||
|[[Hydrogen]]|| align="center"|H<sub>2</sub>|| align="center"|0.000050|| align="center"|0.50 | |||
|- | |||
|[[Nitrous oxide]]|| align="center"|N<sub>2</sub>O|| align="center"|0.000050|| align="center"|0.50 | |||
|- | |||
|[[Xenon]]|| align="center"|Xe|| align="center"|0.000009|| align="center"|0.09 | |||
|- | |||
|[[Ozone]]|| align="center"|O<sub>3</sub>|| align="center"|0.000007|| align="center"|0.07 | |||
|- | |||
|[[Nitrogen dioxide]]|| align="center"|NO<sub>2</sub>|| align="center"|0.000002|| align="center"|0.02 | |||
|- | |||
|colspan="4"|Notes:<br/> | |||
-- ppmv = [[Parts-per notation|parts per million parts by volume]]<br/> | |||
-- Water vapor varies up to a maximum of 4 volume percent.<br/> | |||
-- The total volume percent of the listed gases does not equal<br/>exactly 100 percent because of rounding of the numbers. | |||
|} | |||
|} | |||
Note the amounts of [[greenhouse gas]]es that are present: water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Additional gases (not listed in the table) are also present in very minute amounts. | |||
The atmospheric air is rarely, if ever, dry. Water vapor is nearly always present up to about 4% of the total volume. In the deserts regions, when dry winds are blowing, the water vapor content will be near zero. This climbs to near 3% on extremely hot/humid days. The upper limit of 4% is for tropical climates. | |||
Unfiltered air contains minute amounts of various types of [[particulate matter]] derived from sources such as from dust, pollen and spores, sea spray, volcanoes, meteoroids and industrial activities. | |||
==References== | |||
{{reflist}} |
Revision as of 01:54, 11 March 2010
Air is a colorless, odorless and tasteless mixture of gases consisting mostly of nitrogen (N2) and oxygen (O2). It is the part of Earth's atmosphere that humans and all other animals breathe in order to obtain the oxygen needed to sustain life.
The Earth's atmosphere not only contains the air we breathe, it also holds clouds of moisture (water vapor) that become the water we drink. Furthermore, it protects us from meteors and harmful solar radiation and warms the Earth's surface by heat retention. In effect, the atmosphere is an envelope that protects all life on Earth.
Composition of the atmospheric air
The adjacent table lists the concentration of 14 gases present in filtered dry air. Two of the gases, nitrogen and oxygen make up 99.03 percent of the clean, dry air. The other listed gases total to 0.97 percent.
|
Note the amounts of greenhouse gases that are present: water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Additional gases (not listed in the table) are also present in very minute amounts.
The atmospheric air is rarely, if ever, dry. Water vapor is nearly always present up to about 4% of the total volume. In the deserts regions, when dry winds are blowing, the water vapor content will be near zero. This climbs to near 3% on extremely hot/humid days. The upper limit of 4% is for tropical climates.
Unfiltered air contains minute amounts of various types of particulate matter derived from sources such as from dust, pollen and spores, sea spray, volcanoes, meteoroids and industrial activities.
References
- ↑ The Atmosphere From the website of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service (NWS), Last updated May 5, 2009