Interesting facts about atmospheric pressure. Facts about pressure. What it is

The Earth's atmosphere is one of the most protective and therefore the most important components of our planet. Sheltering us from the harsh conditions of outer space, such as solar radiation and space debris, the atmosphere is a complex structure.

Although we do not do justice to it in our everyday life, the attention of the whole world was riveted on the layers of the atmosphere in 2013, when the Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner (Felix Baumgartner) reached the stratosphere in a capsule, rising to a height of 37 km above the Earth's surface, and made a jump . His record-breaking, astounding freefall sparked a new wave of interest in space travel and atmospheric physics.

In our today's list, we will introduce you to facts about the Earth's atmosphere that are known to a few, but should become widely known, as they are very important for understanding the world around us.

We will tell you how the ozone layer was formed, how deserts form in the middle latitudes, why planes leave a white trail behind them, and much more. So put things aside for a while and check out these 25 facts about the Earth's atmosphere that are truly awesome!

25. Believe it or not, the sky is actually purple. As sunlight passes through the atmosphere, air and water particles absorb, reflect, and scatter it before we can see it.

Since the scattering prefers shorter wavelengths of light, the violet color is most strongly diffused. We think we see blue skies and not purple because our eyes are more sensitive to blue.


24. As you probably know from school, our atmosphere is almost 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and a tiny percentage of argon, carbon dioxide, neon, helium, and other gases. What you most likely didn't learn in school is that our atmosphere is the only one (aside from the magnificent discovery on comet 67P) that contains free oxygen.

Because oxygen is a highly reactive gas, it often interacts with other chemicals in space. Its pure form on Earth makes our planet habitable and therefore is the subject of a search for life on other planets.


23. Most people will probably misunderstand this question: where is more water - in the clouds or in a clear sky?

Although many people think that clouds are the main "storage" because that's where the rain comes from, most of the water is in our atmosphere in the form of invisible water vapour. For this reason, more sweat appears on our body when the level of water vapor in the air, known as humidity, rises.


22. Some global warming skeptics argue that this phenomenon is unrealistic, as their cities are getting colder. The global climate of the Earth is a combination of a wide variety of regional climatic conditions. Therefore, even if warming is observed in some parts of the planet, cooling is observed in others, and in general, the average global climate is rapidly warming up.


21. Have you ever wondered why a plane flying in the sky leaves a white trail behind it? These white trails, known as contrails or contrails, are formed when hot, moist exhaust gases from an aircraft engine mix with colder outside air. Water vapor from the exhaust freezes and becomes visible - just like our warm breath in cold weather.

A weak and rapidly disappearing contrail means that the air at this high altitude has low humidity, which is a sign of good weather. A saturated and persistent contrail indicates high humidity and may indicate a thunderstorm is approaching.


20. The atmosphere of the Earth consists of five main layers, thanks to which life is possible on our planet. The first layer, the troposphere, extends from sea level to 8 km in polar and 18 km in tropical latitudes. Most weather events occur in this layer due to the mixture of warm air that rises and falls to form clouds and wind.


19. The next layer is the stratosphere, reaching almost 50 km above sea level. Here is the ozone layer, which protects us from dangerous ultraviolet rays. Although the stratosphere is higher than the troposphere, this layer may actually be warmer due to the absorbed energy from the sun's rays.


18. The mesosphere is the middle of the five layers, extending up to 80-90 km above the Earth's surface, the temperature in which fluctuates around -118°C. Most meteorites entering our atmosphere burn up in the mesosphere.


17. Following the mesosphere comes the thermosphere, which extends up to 800 km above the Earth's surface. Within this layer lie the main regions of the ionosphere. Most satellites, as well as the International Space Station, are in the thermosphere.


16. Exosphere - the fifth and uppermost, outer layer of the atmosphere, which becomes rarer and rarer as it moves away from the Earth's surface, until it passes into the near space vacuum (until it mixes with interplanetary space). It begins at an altitude of 700 km above the Earth's surface.

The most exciting thing is that the size of this layer can increase or decrease depending on solar activity. When the Sun is calm and does not compress the layer during solar storms, the outer part of the exosphere can extend to a distance of 1000-10000 km from the Earth's surface.


15. Trade winds blow in the warmest parts of our planet, approximately between 23 ° N. latitude. and 23° S That is why most monsoons and thunderstorms are born in these unstable regions.

Beyond them there is no such strong wind. Accordingly, the minimum humidity from the oceans reaches the mainland, and dry air easily sinks to the surface of the planet, often leading to the formation of vast areas of arid deserts.


14. Most jet planes and weather balloons fly in the stratosphere. Jet planes at this altitude, with less gravity and friction, can fly faster, and weather balloons can get a better idea of ​​the storms that form lower in the troposphere.


13. Our planet has probably lost its atmosphere several times. When the Earth was covered in magma oceans, massive Earth-like interstellar objects crashed into it. These impacts (also involved in the creation of our Moon) could be responsible for the first attempts at forming the Earth's atmosphere.


12. Without various gases in its atmosphere, our planet would be too cold for human existence. water vapor, carbon dioxide and other atmospheric gases absorb solar heat, spreading it over the surface of the planet, thereby creating a climate suitable for life.

Scientists are concerned that if too a large number of gases that absorb heat enter the atmosphere, the greenhouse effect will increase, getting out of control and creating a scorching, unsuitable environment for life, as is observed on Venus.


11. Samples atmospheric air, taken after Hurricane Carla swept over the Caribbean in 2010, showed that up to 25% of the bacteria found in it were associated with or were the same as those present in feces. Many of these bacteria, when present in the atmosphere, can collect into droplets and fall to Earth as rain. Scientists consider these bacteria as possible way transmission of diseases.


10. Our notorious (and much-needed) ozone layer was formed when oxygen atoms mixed with ultraviolet solar radiation to create ozone (O3). Ozone molecules absorb most of the harmful solar radiation, preventing it from reaching us.

Despite its importance, the ozone layer was formed relatively recently - after enough life appeared in our oceans to release the amount of oxygen needed to create it.


9. The ionosphere gets its name because high-energy particles from space and our Sun help form ions that create a soft, electrical layer around the planet. This layer helped reflect radio waves until satellites were launched.


8. Acid rain, which destroys entire forests and devastates aquatic ecosystems, forms in the atmosphere when particles of sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxide mix with water vapor and fall to Earth as rain.

Both of these chemical compounds are also found in nature: sulfur dioxide is released during volcanic eruptions, and nitric oxide is produced by electrical lightning discharges.


7. Although air pressure decreases with increasing altitude, it can vary widely at the same place on the Earth. As the Sun heats the earth, the surrounding air also heats up, which rises to become a low pressure point.

As objects move from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure, air near the high pressure begins to rush in to equalize the pressure.


6. Lightning is such a powerful force that just one lightning strike can heat the surrounding air up to 30,000°C. As an electrical explosion, a lightning discharge produces a shock wave that, over long distances, degenerates into a sound wave, which we call thunder.


5. Although the wind we feel on the surface of the Earth often comes from the north and south poles, it actually forms around the equator.

Since sunlight heats the equator and nearby latitudes more, the most heating occurs here. (The sun's rays, of course, also reach the poles, although this happens at an angle and is not so active.) Heated equatorial air rises high into the atmosphere and moves towards the poles, where it descends and returns back to the equator.


4. The aurora borealis and aurora borealis, visible at high northern and southern latitudes, are caused by the reaction of ions occurring in the fourth layer of our atmosphere - the thermosphere.

When highly charged solar wind particles collide with air molecules above our magnetic poles, they glow and create magnificent light shows that are visible from both Earth and space.


3. Skydiver Felix Baumgartner made history by flying from a capsule in the upper stratosphere. Having made a jump from a height of 37 km above the Earth's surface, Baumgartner was first in free flight, flying at a speed exceeding the speed of sound. Gradually, as the air thickened, its rate of fall became less and less.


2. Sunsets often look like the glow of a fire, because small atmospheric particles scatter light, reflecting it in orange and yellow hues. The same principle underlies the formation of a rainbow.


1. In 2013, scientists found that tiny bacteria can survive and multiply high above the Earth's surface. Collected at an altitude of 8-15 km above the Earth, bacteria were found, both partially migratory and partially local, destroying organic compounds floating in the atmosphere for their nutrition.




The modern rhythm of life often does not allow a person to relax even for a minute - and many pay a minimum of attention not only to the family, but also to health. Meanwhile, the pathology of blood pressure is one of the most common diseases, the existence of which everyone knows, but the truth about which is known to few. The doctor talks about problems with blood pressure, debunking the most common myths.

How often do we scold our health: “The head is stone today, whiskey is like in a vise! In the evening he staggers, and everything floats before his eyes, and his heart is pounding - it jumps right out of his chest! “And I sleep all day on the go, where does such weakness come from in the morning? Everything is out of hand."

Have you ever thought that high or low blood pressure can be the cause of frequent ailments? Problems with pressure have long ceased to be the lot of the elderly and every year everyone is getting younger.

Pathology of cardio-vascular system, including blood pressure, is the most common disease in our country and ranks first among the causes of death. It is hardly possible to find a family in which at least one of the members did not suffer from certain problems with blood pressure.

This is probably why popular rumor has formed numerous myths about him, some of which are nothing more than delusions.

Myth 1. I do not feel pressure fluctuations - it means that everything is fine with me

This is not true. For example, arterial hypertension can often occur without clinical manifestations, especially in the early stages.

But such external "well-being" is deceptive! While we once again, forgetting about sleep and appetite, are “burning” at work, glowing white, trying to overtake time in a traffic jam, or actively “resting” in a summer cottage, irreversible changes are taking place inside, sometimes costing us our lives. Therefore, having reached a certain age, it is necessary to periodically measure blood pressure. What is this age? For the strong half of humanity, this is 25-30 years. Alas, a man becomes vulnerable in "the prime of life." As for women, our pressure is “kept in check” by estrogen until the menopause. However, after 50-60 years, women lose their "natural integrity" and quickly join the ranks of patients with cardiovascular pathology.

Myth 2. This is my “working pressure”! No need for treatment

Indeed, there is a concept - "working pressure". This is the pressure at which a person feels satisfactorily. However, the “working” pressure does not always coincide with the normal one.

At the moment, it is considered normal pressure not higher than 139/89 mm Hg and not lower than 90/60 mm Hg. If these figures are exceeded, the load on the walls of blood vessels, the heart, kidneys and other organs increases significantly. We all know how dangerous conditions such as stroke, heart attack, heart failure. When you see the numbers 160/100-180/120 mm Hg on the dial of the tonometer, you must understand what you are risking. After all, it is estimated that if the standard pressure standards are exceeded by 10 mm Hg, the risk of complications increases by 30%.

And although even this high pressure sometimes it may not cause significant discomfort, it is required to take urgent measures to reduce it.

Myth 3. Problems with pressure are hereditary, I can’t avoid it.

This statement is true, but only partly. It is not hypertension and hypotension that are inherited, but a predisposition to them.

Such diseases are very common and are called polygenic (multifactorial): diabetes mellitus, gastric ulcer, coronary heart disease, allergic diseases and bronchial asthma, psoriasis, schizophrenia, etc. develop under the influence of many factors, the most important of which is hereditary predisposition. The risk of developing multifactorial diseases is directly proportional to the number of sick relatives. Moreover, from generation to generation, the disease becomes more severe, it manifests itself earlier and is more common. It is estimated that if both of your parents suffered from hypertension, then the risk for you is about 57%, if only the mother - 30%, only the father - 13%. However, in this case, genes mean a lot, but not everything! Even having a burdened heredity, we remain "the smiths of our happiness" and health.

If you negate other risk factors, then hypertension will bypass you. What are these factors?

Alcohol consumption

Obesity

Hypodynamia

Improper diet (including the abuse of table salt)

Myth 4. You need to change drugs more often so that addiction does not develop.

This statement is incorrect. Modern antihypertensive drugs designed for lifelong use and addiction to them does not occur.

Just the opposite. Drugs are prescribed gradually, depending on the stage of hypertension and concomitant diseases, starting with one or two, then, if necessary, add another one, etc. Dosages should also be selected individually and gradually increased until the desired effect is achieved, especially if you suffer from heart failure. As a rule, the selection of drugs suitable for you is not an easy task, requiring a long time and patience. If the scheme, selected together with your doctor, allows you to stably maintain blood pressure at the desired level and does not cause side effects, then you need to adhere to it constantly. The body and the medicine over time, as it were, "grind" to each other and begin to work harmoniously. Therefore, it is undesirable to change the drug without indications.

Myth 5. Instead of sitting in line to the doctor, I’ll ask my mother for advice - she is a hypertensive patient “with experience”

Perhaps, of course, you will be lucky and you will find what you wanted: without any fuss, you will talk, find out the latest news and a couple of recipes for hypertension, one of which will suit you. But what is the probability of such a coincidence?

There are more than six different groups of antihypertensive drugs. And each group, of course, has its own indications and contraindications for use. Even within the same group, drugs vary greatly in their properties and are selected individually, depending on the dynamics of pressure fluctuations, concomitant diseases and the general condition of the person. Therefore, it is better not to trust the experience of neighbors, but to go for a consultation with a competent cardiologist who will help you choose drug therapy and give advice on lifestyle changes. It will also help to track adverse reactions and prevent drug interactions if you are taking drugs from different groups.

Myth 6. I only take pills when my blood pressure is high. If everything is fine, why poison yourself with chemistry?

This is also a very common misconception, which is often difficult to dispel.

Imagine taking oral contraceptives not every day, as expected, but only when your test showed two stripes! Or a man with a hip fracture would only use a crutch on, say, Mondays! Arterial hypertension is a chronic disease, which means that it will not go anywhere and will not go away “like a blossom from apple trees”! This disease without treatment will steadily progress and sooner or later finish you off. But, fortunately, not everything is so gloomy! For people who are accustomed to fighting for their health and happiness, and not "going with the flow", reliable ways to protect against hypertension have been developed. Numerous randomized studies have shown that hypertension can be "locked up" for life, avoiding all the troubles that it leads to.

And the secret of these methods is simple: a healthy lifestyle and regular medication, regardless of the phase of the cycle, day of the week, weather or mood. Moreover, the formulation of modern drugs is such that it is usually enough to take pills only once a day. For a person suffering from arterial hypertension, it is important not only how high his pressure rises, and not how quickly it decreases.

It is much more important to achieve a stable level of blood pressure and prevent breakdowns. And this is precisely what constant drug therapy is aimed at. During the rise and rapid fall of pressure, our vessels significantly change their lumen. With frequent stretching and narrowing inner surface vessel (intima) is injured - it bursts. Blood components begin to "stick" to the site of injury. A cork forms in the vessel, which disrupts blood circulation. This is where coronary heart disease, migraines and other ailments develop. And if this plug breaks off during the next crisis, then, having got into the vessels of a smaller diameter, it can cause a myocardial infarction, a brain stroke ...

Therefore, it is extremely important to take the drugs prescribed by the doctor not “on demand”, but every day.

Myth 7. It is harmful for young men to treat hypertension, as treatment leads to impotence

Such an assertion is not unfounded. Indeed, some antihypertensive drugs can impair sexual function.

AT last years The effect of antihypertensive therapy on reproductive function in men is being actively studied, and at the moment significant material has been accumulated on this issue. It has been proven that in men who do not receive treatment at all, reproductive function gradually decreases, and these changes occur faster in men who smoke. Some drugs from the group of B-blockers do reduce libido and satisfaction with sexual intercourse with prolonged use, especially in men with heredity burdened by hypertension, but they do not affect erection in any way. And other groups of drugs (ACE inhibitors and calcium channel blockers) not only do not reduce, but even somewhat improve potency, increase libido and satisfaction with sexual intercourse in men.

Therefore, choosing the optimal treatment program for you with a doctor, do not be shy and be sure to discuss these issues with him.

Myth 8. If the pressure is always low, then you can forget about it. They don't die from this!

Of course, people with low blood pressure (hypotension) are much less likely to experience severe cardiovascular complications. But you don't have to relax at all. Hypotension can transform into hypertension during life, and even a small increase in pressure can be very difficult to tolerate. Therefore, pressure control during hypotension is also required. In addition, there are a number of other unpleasant diseases that are sometimes associated with hypotension: anemia, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, pancreas, neuroses, vegetative-vascular dystonia, heart defects, endocrine pathology, etc. Hypotension can cause a violation of potency in men.

So, hypotension really does not die, but often it turns life into flour. Therefore, it also requires diagnosis and treatment.

Myth 9. All hypotensive patients are sleepy and have a sweet tooth!

It's right here! People who are prone to low blood pressure really like sleep and sweets. But these are not whims, but a physiological need.

With reduced pressure, all organs of the body, including the brain, are less well supplied with blood, metabolic processes proceed more slowly. As a result, the general tone decreases, activity falls, much longer than with normal blood pressure, the restoration of strength takes place. Therefore, with arterial hypotension, it is simply necessary to sleep at least 10-12 hours a day. Only in this case, the remaining time can be spent for the benefit of the cause, and not tormenting the first half of the day from not getting enough sleep, and the second half from being already tired. As for the attitude to sweets, from this position the portrait of a hypotonic person is captured in history! Remember Carlson, for whom jam was the best medicine? For those suffering from arterial hypotension, sweets are an excellent tonic, especially with tea or coffee!

Myth 10. At low pressure with physical activity, you need to be careful

It is really more difficult for a person with low blood pressure to have a sports lifestyle. Indeed, what kind of exercise can we talk about in the morning, when you walk “on the wall” from dizziness? And in the evening there is no strength even to get home - what kind of gym can we talk about? But in this case, you can’t go on about your body. Physical activity is just as important for a hypotensive patient as a constant intake of pills is for a hypertensive patient! You just need to find the right approach to your own body.

Never quickly get out of bed, do not "jump"! With a sharp change in body position, especially after a long night's sleep, the blood "does not have time" to rise to the brain. The result is dizziness and fainting. Lie down for a few seconds, stretch, take a deep breath. Sit on the bed - and only then get up. In the morning after waking up, self-massage helps a lot. First, stroke your head several times with deep, light movements, like a comb, gradually making them stronger. Having found the occipital fossa, stop over it. Then massage the crown, gradually shifting to the forehead. It is very useful to stretch the area of ​​​​the neck and shoulder girdle. During the day, when fatigue and headaches appear, you can massage the point located between the thumb and forefinger on the hand. Before any physical activity, even exercises, be sure to do a warm-up. Your body should smoothly transition from one state to another. All exercises should be built in your complex strictly according to the increase in physical activity.

Despite the fact that the problem of blood pressure is very common, we have something to protect ourselves.

The difficulty lies in the fact that not all people are ready to make concessions to their own health. The most effective treatment of hyper- and hypotension is at the initial stages of the development of the disease. But it is very difficult to convince a person of the need to take pills, until, as folk wisdom says, "the rooster does not peck ...".

Therefore, for those suffering from pressure problems, the life slogan should be the words of the great physician Avicenna: “There are three of us - you, me and the disease. Whichever side you take will win."

Natalia DOLGOPOLOVA, therapist

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Air, like any physical body, it has its own mass and also presses on the surface of our Earth and also on all objects that exist. Is it so? Check it out experience.
Take a simple glass tube, and simply dip it with one end into plain water and close the upper hole tightly with your upper finger. Take the tube out of the water, and you will see that no water flows out of the tube at all, because the air pressure from below is much greater than the mass of water contained in the tube closed from above. The mass of a cubic meter of air at the Earth's surface is not large 1kg 300g. knowing this, you can also calculate how much mass the air in your room where you live has. To do this, simply measure the length, width and height by multiplying these figures and have the number of cubic meters of your room.
Multiplying 1 kg 300 g (the mass of one cubic meter of air) by the extracted number, you will get the answer to the question.
Scientists have calculated that for every square centimeter of the Earth's surface, air presses with a force of 1 kg 300 g. This pressure is called atmospheric pressure. However, we do not feel this pressure because it balances with our blood pressure. And so its normal. When you climb to a certain height, say, in the mountains, the pressure decreases, you feel pain in your ears, it becomes more difficult to breathe. Your internal pressure becomes higher than atmospheric pressure. Therefore, it happens that blood begins to flow through the nostrils. The fact that air has pressure was proven in the 17th century. successor Galileo Galilei Italian scientist Toricelli, who in 1643r. invented the barometer. They still measure atmospheric pressure. A mercury barometer consists of a tube with mercury sealed at one end, a cup into which the open part of the tube is lowered, and a scale with divisions into millimeters. If the tube is filled with mercury and then turned upside down with the end closed, some of the mercury will pour out into the cup, leaving a column in the tube, the height of which balances the atmospheric pressure at that point. If it is somewhere on the seashore at the 40th parallel and at an air temperature of 00, then the height of the mercury column is 760 mm or 1013 millibars. Millibar is a unit of pressure. Such pressure is considered normal. One millibar is equal to the pressure of a body weighing 1 g per 1 sq. cm. surfaces. Convenient is a metal barometer - aneroid. It consists of an elastic box from which air is pumped out. It is very sensitive to changes in atmospheric yew. When the pressure increases, the box contracts, and when it decreases, it expands. The change in the volume of the box is transmitted to the arrow, which shows the pressure on the scale.
Observations of atmospheric pressure that it is constantly changing. The reason for this lies in the density of the air. The colder the air, the thicker it is, and therefore more difficult. In winter, over land in the temperate zone, the pressure is greater than over the seas and oceans. This is explained by the fact that the land during this period is colder than the water spaces. From the land, the air cools, which means it becomes heavier. Over the seas and oceans, the pressure at this time becomes less, because the water is warmer from the land and the air is also warmer. Warm air has a lower density (it is less in a cubic meter) and a smaller mass. It is clear that its pressure will be less over land and higher over the seas and oceans.
Pressure also changes with altitude. The higher the area above sea level, the lower the pressure. For every 10 m of elevation, the barometer will show a decrease in pressure of about 1 mm and at an altitude of 200 m above sea level the barometer scale will show 740 mm.
Knowing the pattern of changes in atmospheric pressure, the absolute heights of individual points on the earth's surface are determined. By changing atmospheric pressure, the pilot knows at what altitude the aircraft is. For this purpose, an altimeter is used.

Do you know what now


– Did you know that the Earth's atmosphere is 5 trillion 300 billiards (5,300,000,000,000,000) tons? In order to make it easier to understand this unimaginable number, it should be explained with an example. Such a cargo could be transferred from Moscow to St. Petersburg in only 4 billion years, provided that the cargo would be transported on trains with 100 wagons, and the journey of one train was 10 hours.
The North Pole is colder than the South. Quite a popular stereotype among the "people". Firstly, the South Pole is heated by the sun for about 7 days longer than the South. Secondly, the North Pole is located at an altitude of about 3 kilometers above sea level, while the South Pole is directly above its level. Thirdly, warm current The Gulf Stream is located near the North Pole, in addition, the North Pole is surrounded on all sides by continents, which also affects the heat. As a result, we can assume that all statements that the South Pole is warmer than the North Pole can be considered erroneous.

“Earth and air cannot exist separately. Imagine a situation where the Earth's atmosphere does not move with the Earth. As a result, a person could simply rise briefly into the air, without going anywhere, and descend, as a result, a person would end up in a completely different place, because the Earth would have already moved. Thus, humanity would not be able to travel.

– Atmospheric precipitation affects not only people, but also animals. For example, on the Pacific coast of America, in the Atacama Desert, a maximum of 8 mm of precipitation falls per year, which is quite small for this area. Because of such weather, not only in the desert there are a lot of animal deaths, but also their corpses. Dryness does not allow them to quickly rot, as a result of which corpses can easily lie on the ground for decades.

- People who saw a thunderstorm in Egypt can rightly consider themselves lucky. People in this country wildly rejoice at such a phenomenon, because a thunderstorm can be a maximum of once in 200 years.

– The energy of the sun activates a strong thermal “machine”, which overcomes the force of gravity, thanks to which this “machine” easily lifts into the atmosphere more than 500 thousand kilometers of water per cube from the whole globe. And 411,000³ kilometers rises into the atmosphere exclusively from the surface of the ocean.

– Despite the fact that most people have a negative attitude towards the appearance of lightning in the sky, it is beneficial for the soil. Lightning manages to capture several million tons of nitrogen in the air, and later send them to the ground. Thanks to this, your cereals in the ground can grow faster and your crops become richer.

- The direction of the wind, and later the speed, people learned to determine about 2000 years ago. The device that the ancient inhabitants of the world used is called the "Weather Vane". The weather vane was invented in the East, but after its creation, it quickly appeared in Europe. In each country, the weather vane looked different. Somewhere he was depicted as a dragon, somewhere as a tiger. Later, the weather vane became not only a device for obtaining wind direction, but also an ornament. For example, in European cities of the Middle Ages, it was often installed on tall buildings. In most cases, he was depicted as a rooster. The people nicknamed the weather vane "the cock of the weather." Since the weather changed very often along with the direction of the wind. It was installed on hills for the reason that ordinary people passing through the city could see it from a distance and learn about possible weather changes.


– The Ustyurt Plateau is known throughout Kazakhstan. And the thing is that in this place there is a rather old well, which, as the locals themselves say, can predict the weather. The fact is that if any precipitation is soon foreshadowed: rain, snow, and maybe fog, then the well draws air into itself. If the weather is dry and sunny, then it pushes the air out. In order for the inhabitants to determine whether it draws in air or, on the contrary, pushes it out, you just need to throw some thing into the well, if it flies back, then the weather will be dry, otherwise precipitation should be expected. Such a well was even beautifully equipped with limestone slabs. It is rightfully considered a natural phenomenon, and the inhabitants themselves declare that the ancient well has not been wrong in its predictions more than once.

- Many do not even realize how much money the price of the Earth's atmosphere costs. Scientists have determined that its approximate cost is 4.3 septillion. One septillion is 1000 to the fifth power of dollars.


– Every day, 100 tons of relatively small meteorites, consisting of dust fragments, fall into the atmosphere of our planet. The percentage that at least one piece of a meteorite, even small by our standards, will fall to Earth is extremely small, and scientists have the opportunity to find out about this long before its fall.

- The Hoba meteorite is one of the most famous, since it fell to our Earth. He managed to pass through the atmosphere for the reason that he was completely flat on each side. As a result, its passage through the atmosphere can be compared to the fall of a stone through water.

Before oxygen appeared in the atmosphere of our planet, bacteria already existed on Earth. Their approximate appearance is 3.5 million years ago. There was no oxygen back then.

- At absolutely any time of the year, about 8,600,000 lightning strikes the Earth daily

- A certain Encyclopedia Britannica spoke about the fact that clouds are able to "return" rain to the earth. The point is this. The energy of the sun directly affects the evaporation of water from the land and from the body of water. Much, in turn, depends on the energy of the sun: the scheme of the circulation of moisture in the air, the level of evaporation and the amount of precipitation, ocean currents. Evaporation will be higher than the level of precipitation over the ocean, and the wind will carry water vapor over the earth, in the future, water vapor, that is, precipitation, will fall out, that is, return to the earth. The expression "bring rain back to earth" may not be the most accurate, however, theoretically, this is exactly what happens.


Evangelista Torricelli was born on October 15, 1608 in the small Italian town of Faenza into a poor family. He was brought up by his uncle, a Benedictine monk. Further life in Rome and communication with the famous mathematician (a student of Galileo) Castelli contributed to the development of Torricelli's talent. Most of the scientist's works for the most part remained unpublished. Torricelli is one of the creators of the liquid thermometer. But the most famous experimental study of Torricelli is his experiments with mercury, which proved the existence of atmospheric pressure. The merit of the scientist is that he decided to switch to a liquid with a higher density than water - to mercury. This made it possible to make the experiments relatively easy to reproduce. However, one should not think that in the middle of the XVII century. staging and reproducing Torricelli's experiments was a simple matter. At that time it was quite difficult to make the necessary glass tubes, as evidenced by the failure of some scientists to set up similar experiments independently of Torricelli.




I ordered two copper hemispheres with a diameter of three quarters of a Magdeburg cubit (a Magdeburg cubit is 550 cm) ... Both hemispheres fully corresponded to each other. A crane was attached to one hemisphere; With this valve, you can remove air from the inside and prevent air from entering from the outside. In addition, four rings were attached to the hemispheres, through which ropes tied to a team of horses were threaded. I also ordered a leather ring to be sewn; it was saturated with a mixture of wax in turpentine; sandwiched between the hemispheres, it did not let air through them. An air pump tube was inserted into the faucet, and the air inside the ball was removed. Then it was discovered with what force both hemispheres were pressed against each other through a leather ring. The pressure of the outside air pressed them so tightly that 16 horses (with a jerk) could not separate them at all, or achieved this only with difficulty. When the hemispheres, yielding to the tension of all the strength of the horses, were separated, a roar was heard, as from a shot. But it was enough to open free access to air by turning the tap, and the hemispheres could easily be separated by hand.