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If the universe is expanding, the "pressure" of the "vacuum" in space is decreasing, the earths Atmosphere is expanding, atmospheric pressure is decreasing.

Taking into account: the rate of expansion of the universe/atmosphere, the atmospheric volume increasing/decreasing by chemical activity in the core of the planet and on it's surface, effect of cosmic radiation and the rate of evolutionary adaption of our means of respiration, the lung. could it be possible to determine a moment in time when earth's atmosphere is no longer breathable due to the reduction in atmospheric pressure?

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    $\begingroup$ Possible duplicates: Why does space expansion not expand matter? and links therein. $\endgroup$
    – Qmechanic
    Commented Aug 22, 2022 at 5:20
  • $\begingroup$ Planets hold their atmospheres because of gravity, despite the vacuum of space. I don't know what you mean by the "pressure" of the "vacuum". $\endgroup$
    – PM 2Ring
    Commented Aug 22, 2022 at 10:25
  • $\begingroup$ I apologise, let me elaborate. I mean space is not an absolute vacuum, it has some pressure. Not much but some. This is why I have "" the word vacuum, because the vacuum of space is the common terminology used. We have evolved on Earth with an atmospheric pressure of 14.7 psi at sea level currently, so from our perspective 14.7 psi is zero, our baseline datum point, space outside our atmosphere is much lower so how do we measure it, with negative numbers? Basically the universe is gradually depressurising as it expands, allowing everything else to expand with it. That's the concept. Thanks. $\endgroup$ Commented Aug 24, 2022 at 1:15
  • $\begingroup$ This is not about losing atmosphere, this is about expansion of the atmosphere, the reduction of gravitational and all other forces with the dissipation of the quantum fields, universal expansion. $\endgroup$ Commented Aug 24, 2022 at 1:21

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The expansion of the universe is a cosmological effect, which is relevant between groups of galaxies. Within a galaxy, more ordinary gravitational attraction overwhelms the cosmological expansion, and you can ignore it.

The primary mechanism for mass loss from Earth's atmosphere is probably its interaction with the solar wind, but Earth's magnetic field mostly steers the solar wind away from interacting with the atmosphere directly. There is some amount of replenishment due to outgassing from Earth's interior, most dramatically in volcanic eruptions.

The abstract of this 2020 paper suggests that we don't have very much data about the history of Earth's atmospheric pressure over geological time.

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  • $\begingroup$ Hi Rob, thanks for your answer. According to livescience.com NASA seems to think the sun is indeed moving away from us. They also believe The lowest part of Earth's atmosphere has been rising by 164 feet (50 meters) per decade since 1980. If gravity is a compounded molecular force and we're still moving away from the sun could this mean universal expansion can out run gravity in our solar system. Could this explain the mechanism for growth, chemical activity, sea levels rising, the sun's mass increasing and the need to recalibrate tools. Could there be other answers for these phenomenons. :) $\endgroup$ Commented Aug 23, 2022 at 17:02
  • $\begingroup$ The evolution of orbits within the solar system is completely understood in terms of gravitational interactions among the sun and planets. Jupiter has a long-term forcing effect on the other planets, in a complicated way. The rise in the tropopause is a climate change effect. Consider that Hubble expansion is kilometers per second per megaparsec, but thermal motion is kilometers per second over much shorter distance. $\endgroup$
    – rob
    Commented Aug 23, 2022 at 17:30
  • $\begingroup$ Hi Rob, so if the formation of the Solar System began about 4.6 billion years ago with the gravitational collapse of a small part of a giant molecular cloud and the rate of Hubble expansion is 73 kilometers per second per megaparsec then the size of the universe was 60 billion light years across when the solar system was formed, compared to its current size of 92 billion light years, a much denser environment. wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that gravitational interactions are in direct proportion to the expansion of the universe? $\endgroup$ Commented Aug 23, 2022 at 23:31
  • $\begingroup$ As for the Jupiter effect, why is Jupiter moving away from the sun aswell? One would have thought with two massive gravitational fields they would be drawn together, yet they are not. Could this be because universal expansion is a stronger force than the two gravitational fields combined. Newton stated if something is moving, it will keep moving until something acts on it. Rate of change equals the force acting on it and If two bodies exert forces on each other, these forces have the same magnitude but opposite directions. So if Jupiter is moving away from the sun, what force is acting on it? $\endgroup$ Commented Aug 23, 2022 at 23:54
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    $\begingroup$ No. Hubble expansion is irrelevant if any local (that is, non-cosmological) interactions are involved. To an excellent approximation, electromagnetism is infinitely stronger than gravity. $\endgroup$
    – rob
    Commented Aug 24, 2022 at 1:11

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