Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Contents
The Atmosphere
Gas Composition Regions of the Atmosphere
Pressure
Temperature Air Density
Humidity
Atmosphere (ISA)
Introduction
Air is one of the
primary things that makes life on Earth possible. Air is a synonym for atmosphere. The Earths atmosphere or air is made up of a variety of gases and other particles.
Gas Composition
What is the Atmosphere??
layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth
Gases in atmosphere:
78% - Nitrogen
21% - Oxygen 1% - Other gases (Argon,
Troposphere
a height of 14 km above sea level (0-36000 feet). Almost all weather occurs within this layer (below 15000 feet). Temperature will decrease with altitude. Almost all clouds in this layer.
Tropopause
Boundary between troposphere and stratosphere. Temperature stop to decrease. Height of tropopause is important because it MARKS:
Max. Height of Cloud. Presence of Jetstream. (a band of strong winds at high altitude) Presence of Clear Air Turbulence (CAT). turbulence encountered in air where no cloud is present
Stratosphere
Stratosphere
The stratosphere
Very small increase in temperature (almost constant) except at the top where temperature
is zero at 50 kms.
Commercial jet aircraft fly in the lower stratosphere to avoid the turbulence which occur in the troposphere layer. Air is thinner at the top of the stratosphere than it is at sea level. Aircraft reach their maximum operational altitudes
Variation in Atmosphere
The earths atmosphere varies vertically and horizontally in
Pressure
Temperature
Air Density
Humidity
Pressure
Pressure:
Pressure is the force per unit area:
Pressure can be in the unit of mmHg,
atmosphere (atm), Pascal (Pa), Pa, milibar (mb), Inch of mercury etc.
exert on adjacent bodies. Ambient static pressure is equal to the weight of a column of air over a given area. The force of static pressure always acts perpendicular to any surface that the air particles collide with, regardless of whether the air is moving with respect to that surface.
Cont.
Pressure is the cumulative effect of air
Air Pressure Depends On: The mass of the molecule (density) Temperature
Temperature
Temperature (T) is a measure of the average random kinetic energy of air
particles.
Scale Fahrenheit scale: from -32 to 212 deg
Celcius (centigrade) scale: from 0 to 100
deg deg
66,000 feet, the air remains at a constant 56.5 C. This layer of constant temperature is called the isothermal layer.
34,000
48,000 63,000
190
95 47
-62.3
-67.3 -67.04
Air Density
Density : mass per unit volume (m/v) Air density () is the total mass of air particles per unit of volume. Density inversely proportional to temperature.
When air heated (temperature increase), the
volume of air will expand. Therefore the mass of air decreases and lead to density decreases.
AIR DENSITY.
resistance to objects flying through it. REDUCE DRAG. forward at a given speed. altitudes with LESS FUEL.
Therefore, LESS THRUST is needed to move the aircraft As a result, airplanes can fly more efficiently at higher However if airplane is too high (>60,000ft), AIR DENSITY
TOO LOW or ZERO AIR DENSITY it will cause LIFT force highly reduce or no Lift force. This condition is dangerous where it can cause airplane lose it control (STALL) .
Humidity
Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. Water vapor: water in its gaseous state
Conclusion
The Earths atmosphere or air is made up of a variety of gases, other particles and in form of several layers. The physical condition of atmosphere different for each layer. The earths atmosphere varies vertically and horizontally in temperature, pressure, density and humidity.
between three properties of air: pressure (P), density (), and temperature (T). It is expressed as an equation where R is a constant for any given gas (such as dry air):
P = RT
One method to increase pressure is to keep
density constant and increase temperature (as in a pressure cooker). If pressure remains constant, there is an inverse relationship between density and temperature. An increase in temperature must result in a decrease in density, and vice versa.
temperature, density, and viscosity of the Earth's atmosphere change over a wide range of altitudes.