Air that surrounds the Planet

Air is the name for a mixture of gases that make up the Earth’s atmosphere and is one of the basic conditions for life. Animals, plants and humans breathe oxygen, but plants need carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. For example, at high altitudes, there is very little air. Warmer air is lighter than the colder and rises above, the cooler is lowered down. Air movement is called wind. Air pressure is lowered when the weather is unfavorable and increases when it is convenient. Barometer is a device that measures air pressure.

The air carried a variety of phenomena such as wind, clouds, rain, ice storm, snow, rime, fog and lightning. In fact, the atmosphere is a layer of gases that surrounds our Planet, which keeps the Earth’s gravity. The atmosphere protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation. It warming the Planet surface through heat retention (greenhouse effect) and reducing temperature extremes between day and night. The atmosphere becomes thinner and thinner as altitude increases. Several layers can be distinguished in the atmosphere, based on characteristics, such as temperature and composition.
 

Different areas of the atmosphere:

Troposphere – The atmosphere can be divided into multiple layers, depending on the change in air temperature. The lowest layer (troposphere) the air temperature drops an average of 6.5 ° C (degrees celsius) at 1 kilometer. On the soil average temperature of the Earth is 15 ° C. If there were no atmosphere, the temperature would be lower by 33 ° C. For instance, troposphere, on average, reaches a height of 16 kilometers and is in the tropics and the top has a temperature of about -80 ° C. In temperate and polar regions has a height of between 7 and 11 kilometers and the upper limit temperature of -40 to -60 ° C. In troposphere clouds appear, precipitation falls, the wind blows and are taking place all the changes that make weather.
 

Stratosphere – above the troposphere is 1 to 2 kilometers thick intermediate layer (tropopause). In fact, the air temperature almost does not change. At altitudes up to 50 kilometers is stratosphere. The temperature on average, first gently and then more rapid rise and on it’s top reaches values as at the ground. In the highest part of the troposphere and the lower stratosphere winds can reach speeds of up to 400 kilometers per hour (jet stream). At altitudes between 20 and 30 kilometers sometimes appear pearlescent clouds, composed of particles of ice.
 

Mesosphere – atmospheric layer between 50 and 80 kilometers, in which the air temperature decreases with height. On top of the layer reached from -85 to -90 ° C. In northern latitudes can be rarely seen and illuminated the night skies. It's called the silvery clouds. It is composed of ice probably precipitated by the Meteor dust, at altitudes between 75 and 90 kilometers.
 

Thermosphere – above 80 up to 500 kilometers, where the temperature again rises with height. The ionosphere is called a layer between 60 and 400 kilometers. There are multiple layers of ionized air formed by the action of ultraviolet radiation, X-rays and the rapid current of electrons from the Sun (the solar wind). The layer between 60 and 90 kilometers there is a so-called D-class, between 90 and 150 kilometers E-layer (a layer Heaviside Kennely) and at heights of between 150 and 400 kilometers F-layer (layer Appleton). These layers conduct electricity and reflected radio waves from Earth. At an altitude of 170 kilometers begins to see the light of a Meteor, while the northern lights occur at altitudes from 70 to 1000 kilometers.
 

Exosphere – above the ionosphere, up to a distance of some 9600 km, within it at altitudes above 500 kilometers begins magnetosphere, where electricity uncharged particles of air under the influence of Earth’s magnetic field and ionization is so strong that the particles form a plasma (a mixture of charged ions and negative electrons). In particular the high concentration of charged particles in a layer between 3000 and 15.000 kilometers (Van Allen radiation belts).
 

The boundary of the magnetosphere is different from the Earth, depending on the position of the Sun. This limit (magnetic pause) is approximately 60.000 kilometers to the Sun and far more on the opposite side, which in turn depends on the activity of the Sun. Outside of this area the magnetic field intensity is equal to the magnetic field strength in the interplanetary Space and held that there ceases to impact the Earth and interplanetary Space begins.
 

Volume share of gas in the air is:

78.084% nitrogen (N2)
20.947% oxygen (O2)
0.934% argon (Ar)
0.033% carbon dioxide (CO2)
 

In the air there are the following trace elements, such as neon (Ne), helium (He), krypton (Kr), sulfur dioxide (SO2), methane (CH4), hydrogen (H2), nitrous oxide (N2O), xenon (Xe), ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), iodine (I2), carbon monoxide (CO) and ammonia (NH3).