EESB03H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Thermosphere, Stratopause, Lapse Rate
23 Jan 2017
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The atmosphere surrounds earth with a delicate, life-sustaining blanket of air. Without the atmosphere, lakes and oceans would not exist. There would be no sounds, no clouds, no sunsets. It would be extremely cold at night and extremely hot in the summer. The at(cid:373)osphere prote(cid:272)ts us fro(cid:373) the su(cid:374)(cid:859)s har(cid:373)ful radiatio(cid:374) a(cid:374)d pro(cid:448)ides us (cid:449)ith a (cid:373)i(cid:454)ture of gases that allow life to flourish. Like everything air is also composed of atoms. Each atom has electrons whirling about a dense center (the nucleus). The nucleus contains the protons and the neutrons, and almost all the mass is concentrated here. As long as the number of protons in the nucleus equals the number of orbiting electrons, the atom is balanced and electrically neutral. The air we breathe is mainly molecules of nitrogen and oxygen. Nitrogen and oxygen compose of almost 99% of all the air in the atmosphere. Each galaxy is made up of billions of stars.
