Gaseous layer around a planet, dwarf planet, or a star.
-2
votes
2answers
31 views
What processes occur when a meteor enters the atmosphere?
What processes occur when a meteor enters earth's atmosphere and then what will be speed of meteor when it encounters air resistance?
0
votes
0answers
15 views
simplification of bulk algorithms for surface fluxes
Im trying to calculate the surface heat fluxes from bulk algorithms following the methods defined in Renfrew et al., (2002)
A Comparison of Surface Layer and Surface Turbulent Flux Observations
...
1
vote
0answers
18 views
virtual air-surface temperature difference above a water body
I'm trying to work through the equations for the following paper:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2009JD012839/abstract
and am trying to understand the concept of virtual air temperature, ...
5
votes
3answers
103 views
Atmospheric pressure experiment using a cup with a fluid to hold a glass plate
When I was in high school, my teacher did an experiment to show the power of atmospheric pressure.
Experiment:
Prepare a glass bottle, fill with water, put a glass plate on the bottle, make sure ...
-1
votes
0answers
55 views
How much energy would a UV laser need to burn through 30cm of steel when fired from orbit? [closed]
For balancing a role playing game, I'd like to know how much energy a UV laser would need to burn through 30 cm of steel in one second. The laser is installed on a platform in orbit (say 10'000 km ...
6
votes
3answers
348 views
How is it that the Earth's atmosphere is not “blown away”?
The Earth moves at a high rate of speed around the Sun, and the solar system is moving quickly around the Milky Way. How is it that the Earth's atmosphere is not “blown away”?
7
votes
2answers
105 views
Is the total mass of Earth's atmosphere essentially constant in time?
Per a few questions and comments on this site such as Huge buildings affect earth's rotation? I wonder, is the mass of the Earth's atmosphere roughly constant?
We're burning an incredible amount ...
2
votes
2answers
33 views
Penetration of light in the atmosphere
While I was considering an answer to this question, I wondered how much light that enters the atmosphere reaches the ground without colliding with air molecules—if any. I've taken a good bit of ...
2
votes
1answer
74 views
Has martian sunset same spectra than this earthly bluish-violet sunset?
Has martian sunset same spectra than this earthly bluish-violet sunset?
What about sunset on Mercury?
0
votes
2answers
125 views
How can anything be hotter than the Sun?
I've heard that if a space shuttle enters the atmosphere from a bad angle its surface will become so hot that it will be hotter than the surface of the Sun.
How can that be? It seems to an uneducated ...
4
votes
2answers
64 views
Attenuation mass-thickness for sunset light
We are able to look directly at the sun near sunset and sunrise, which clearly demonstrates the fact that our atmosphere attenuates visible light. Let's imagine it follows the typical attenuation ...
4
votes
1answer
185 views
Can a hovering helicopter travel half the globe in 12 hours? [duplicate]
Suppose we have a helicopter that is able to stay stationary in flight for extended periods of time. If such a helicopter stayed at point A in the sky for 12 hours straight, would it reach the other ...
2
votes
1answer
150 views
What if Felix Baumgartner went the other way?
How much harder would it have been for Felix to use some powered sled and head for the ISS when he stepped out of his capsule? He was already above most of the atmosphere.
BTW, Is that capsule still ...
1
vote
2answers
215 views
Is it possible to calculate atmospheric pressure if given temperature (F) and elevation?
I am working on a report at work and need to determine the atmospheric pressure for small intervals over a 24 hour period. Searching Google, I've found charts which give a base pressure of 14.65 psia ...
6
votes
3answers
228 views
Can low-gravity planets sustain a breathable atmosphere?
If astronauts could deliver a large quantity of breathable air to somewhere with lower gravity, such as Earth's moon, would the air form an atmosphere, or would it float away and disappear? Is there a ...
2
votes
1answer
80 views
Sensors for Greenhouse Study
A group and I have the opportunity to design a payload that will be sent up some 100,000 ft (~ 30 km) into the atmosphere for approximately 3 hours. In our design, we were going to include gas sensors ...
1
vote
1answer
67 views
Equations for the two-plane model of the greenhouse effect
I'm trying to understand this "toy model" of the greenhouse effect.
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2007/04/learning-from-a-simple-model
The model predicts the surface temperature of ...
3
votes
0answers
36 views
Special conditions at layer F2 ionosphere
I saw this graph about the electrons density in different altitudes and difference between night and day, the difference between the 2 electron densities (day and night) decreases till 300 Km (F2 ...
0
votes
0answers
36 views
Term for “atmospheric ricochet” due to wrong “angle-of-attack”
I watched "Apollo 13" yesterday, and they had the "angle-of-attack" problem that had to be manually solved, to prevent the ship from "ricochet[ing] off the atmosphere like a rock skipping off a pond".
...
2
votes
1answer
146 views
What is the cause of orange sky glow?
I live in the Netherlands and recently I have been seeing an orange glow in the sky at night, in the northwestern direction. What is the cause of this? And why is it in the northwestern direction (I ...
2
votes
0answers
24 views
Surface UV exposure with cooler star
If the sun's surface was ~ 4000K (and earth closer to compensate), the UV component of the radiation would be less. However, UV makes ozone via photolysis of oxygen. Also, the stratosphere would ...
5
votes
1answer
84 views
Atmospheric Circulation
What is the simplest simulatable model giving our rotating earth its 3 circulation cells (Hadley, Ferrel, Polar)?
The model should also show 1 circulation cell if the earth's rotation were stopped (or ...
2
votes
2answers
168 views
Minimum size of an asteroid to actually impact earth
From what I understand, an object entering the atmosphere will start to burn up from the tremendous resistance of the atmosphere. Presumably, for asteroids under a certain size, they will burn up ...
1
vote
1answer
91 views
Is the Earth's atmosphere a Faraday cage?
X-ray telescopes are required to be above the atmosphere as the atmosphere blocks EM waves with wavelengths < UV . Does this mean that the Earth's atmosphere can be thought of as a Faraday cage ...
9
votes
1answer
347 views
Energy from man-made tornadoes
Peter Thiel just paid $300,000 to Canadian inventor Louis Michaud who is working to construct useful "man-made tornadoes" or "atmospheric vortex engines" which could be components of future power ...
14
votes
2answers
286 views
How deep is the Great Red Spot?
The Great Red Spot (GRS) is a very persistent storm system that's easily visible through a telescope on the surface of Jupiter. But what is the three-dimensional structure of the GRS, and how deep ...
1
vote
0answers
63 views
What is the critical mass of a planet to have an atmosphere like Earth's?
Small planets/orbits like Moon cannot have atmosphere because of their masses. They don't have enough gravity to hold an atmosphere. Then what is the critical mass that makes enough gravity to keep an ...
5
votes
1answer
299 views
Why does the sun “shine brighter” some days?
Today, the sun seems extremely bright; more dazzling than usual, and even the roads seem to be brighter so it's not just when you look up in the sky. Is more light actually getting through (perhaps ...
8
votes
1answer
252 views
What causes a ring-like image around light of the moon?
I just encountered an interesting image in sky.
As you can see in following images there was a ring-like image around light of the moon.
I don't know if it was clouds but it was looking like it is far ...
3
votes
1answer
71 views
image distortion when taking a picture from space
I'm trying to understand if there is a distortion of an image taken from space (i.e. from a satellite), and if there is, then how to model it mathematically (depending on the angle in which we take ...
6
votes
2answers
156 views
Is it possible to use a balloon to float so high in the atmosphere that you can be gravitationally pulled towards a satellite?
A recent joke on the comedy panel show 8 out of 10 cats prompted this question. I'm pretty sure the answer's no, but hopefully someone can surprise me.
If you put a person in a balloon, such that ...
5
votes
4answers
1k views
Why less temperature at high altitude
Why there is always cold at high altitudes. e.g. at peak of mountains. Also as we go high from see level, temperature starts decreasing, so why is it.
12
votes
1answer
4k views
Did Felix Baumgartner produce a sonic boom during his jump?
I really got to thinking about this. The speed of sound is measured at 761.2 MPH at sea level. But how does this number change as air density decreases? The lack of air density is what allowed his ...
2
votes
1answer
91 views
How far does typical view of clouds/atmosphere extend?
The specific "sub questions" I'm asking are:
When you are looking at clouds just on the horizon, how far away would they be?
How wide (in km) is that total field of vision at roughly cloud height.
...
8
votes
1answer
2k views
From how high could have Felix Baumgartner jumped without disintegrating like a shooting star?
Today Felix Baumgartner jumped from 39 kilometres high and reached the earth safely.
Just considering friction, from how high can a human jump?
I expect that from a certain height, he would have ...
4
votes
2answers
362 views
What does the phrase “limb of the earth” or “atmospheric limb” mean?
What does the term limb of the earth (see this question, for example) or atmospheric limb mean? The phrase strikes me as very odd, since earth is nearly spherical. Do other planets with atmospheres ...
0
votes
1answer
315 views
Atmospheric Escape of Gas Molecules
Most of the Bodies and Objects in space are likely to have an atmosphere. Since the space is empty, the gases in atmosphere should have either dissolved or emptied into space. But, Why doesn't this ...
1
vote
2answers
124 views
Height of the atmosphere - conflicting answers
Okay. I have two ways of working out the height of the atmosphere from pressure, and they give different answers. Could someone please explain which one is wrong and why? (assuming the density is ...
0
votes
2answers
102 views
Atmosphere above huge fire areas (e.g., “fire ocean”)? [closed]
My question is more about climate sciences, but I hope that it is still related to physics.
What would be possible atmospheric conditions for planet with some kind of "fire" ocean?
I had some ...
5
votes
3answers
315 views
Why is Titan able to maintain an atmosphere, and not Luna?
I just read stability of hypothetical lunar atmosphere. From the correct answer, i understand, the low escape velocity from Luna is part of the reason it is unable to retain an atmosphere.
Titan ...
0
votes
2answers
94 views
Is a photovoltaic cell on an artificial satellite the same construction as one used on Earth's surface?
Just what the title states.
Are photovoltaic cell arrays on a satellite the same that are used within Earth, or is there some difference in their construction given the differing environment in which ...
1
vote
2answers
111 views
During an Ice Age, would someone at moderate latitude get a sunburn/suntan on a sunny day?
Let's say you live at a moderate (temperate, in today's terms) latitude during the last glacial maximum. You're probably in some kind of steppe or taiga biome, even though you're at 40 degrees north, ...
0
votes
1answer
83 views
Can atmospheric hydrogen be collected for use?
Just what the title states.
Free hydrogen accumulates in the exosphere. At high altitudes there are large volumes of open space between molecules - which would be a hindrance to collection.
Would ...
1
vote
3answers
244 views
Would the rate of ascent of an indestructible balloon increase as function of it's altitude?
Assume a balloon filled with Hydrogen, fitted with a perfect valve, and capable of enduring vacuum (that is to say, it would retain it's shape and so well insulated that the extremes of temperature at ...
2
votes
2answers
109 views
If I lift a submerged hose over 35 feet above the water's surface, what's in the top foot?
I've been arguing with a friend about the whole "perfect vacuum" concept. He and I agree that the most powerful vacuum pump in the world couldn't pump water more than ~34 feet above the surface of a ...
0
votes
2answers
162 views
Why is the atmosphere transparent in the visible spectrum?
One of the great coincidences in physics is that the Sun happens to shine most brightly at exactly the wavelengths our eyes can see; it's an easy explanation that our eyes evolved to make the most out ...
23
votes
3answers
2k views
Why is the sky not purple?
I realise the question of why this sky is blue is considered reasonably often here, one way or another. You can take that knowledge as given. What I'm wondering is, given that the spectrum of ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
If blue light has a higher energy than red light, why does it scatter more?
As $E=hf=\frac{hc}{\lambda}$, blue light - with a smaller wavelength - should have a higher energy. However, it is the case that blue light scatters the most. Why is it that higher energy rays scatter ...
0
votes
2answers
660 views
Why the pressure of atmosphere doesn't crush you when you e.g. walk outside?
Why the pressure of atmosphere doesn't crush you when you e.g. walk outside? I mean the density of air is $1.26 kg/m^3$, so with $100 km$ above us, it exerts much pressure on you when you walk ...
8
votes
2answers
1k views
Is there an upper frequency limit to ultrasound?
Wikipedia has this diagram of the acoustic frequency spectrum:
Is there an upper limit to the frequencies you can transmit through the air? Are they absorbed more and more at higher frequencies, ...
