Thin air. How to create rarefied air in a simple way What does a rarefied atmosphere mean?

Air density is not the same. Where it is smaller, the air is thinner. Let's find out what rarefied air means and what features it is characterized by.

Gas shell of the Earth

Air is an intangible, but extremely important component of our planet. It participates in the process of energy exchange, supporting all vital functions of organisms. It promotes the transmission of sounds, prevents hypothermia of the Earth and protects it from the excessive influence of solar radiation.

Air is the outer shell of the planet, called the atmosphere. It consists of many gases: neon, argon, hydrogen, methane, helium, krypton, etc. The main share is made up of oxygen and nitrogen, which make up 98% to 99% of air.

The ratio of gases and their quantity may vary. Thus, due to car exhaust and factory emissions, city air is more saturated with carbon dioxide. In forests, in areas where there is no industry, the amount of oxygen increases. But in the pasture area, the proportion of methane that cows emit during digestion is growing.

Air density

The density of the gas shell is influenced by many factors; it differs in different parts of the planet and at different altitudes. Air with low density is rarefied air (from the word “rare”). The rarer it is, the farther its molecules are from each other.

Density shows how much air is in one cubic meter of volume. The value chosen as the standard for this value is 1.293 kilograms per cubic meter under normal conditions and dry air.

In physical science, it is customary to distinguish between specific and mass densities. Specific determines one cubic meter. It depends on geographic latitude and inertia from the rotation of the planet. Mass is determined based on barometric pressure, absolute temperature and specific gas constant.

The main patterns of occurrence and principles of rarefied air are described by the Gay-Lussac and Boyle-Marriott laws. According to them, the higher the temperature and lower the pressure, the rarer the air. At the same time, its humidity is also important: as it increases, the density decreases.

Thin air and altitude

The force of gravity of the Earth, like a magnet, attracts all bodies accessible to it towards itself. That's why we walk, and don't float chaotically in space. Therefore, more molecules of matter accumulate at the bottom, which means that its density and pressure are also higher near the earth’s surface. The farther you are from it, the lower these indicators are.

Have you noticed that as you climb to higher altitudes, such as in the mountains, it becomes harder to breathe? This is due to the thin air there. With altitude, the total oxygen content in one liter of air becomes less. It does not saturate the blood properly and we experience difficulty breathing.

The height of Mount Everest is 8488 meters. At its summit, the air density is one third of the standard density at sea level. A person can notice changes already at an altitude of 1500 to 2500 meters. Further changes in density and pressure are felt more acutely and already pose a potential health risk.

The most rarefied air is characteristic of the exosphere - the outer layer of the atmosphere. It starts from an altitude of 500-1000 kilometers above. It smoothly moves into outer space, where space is close to a state of vacuum. The pressure and density of gas in space is very low.

Helicopter and thin air

A lot depends on the air density. For example, it defines a “ceiling” for rising above the earth’s surface. For a person it is ten thousand meters. But to rise so high requires a lot of preparation.

Aircraft also have their limits. For helicopters it is approximately 6 thousand meters. Much less than airplanes. Everything is explained by the design features and operating principles of this “bird”.

The helicopter gains lift using propellers. They rotate, dividing the air into two streams: above them and below them. In the upper part, the air moves in the direction of the screws, in the lower part - against. Thus, the density under the wing of the apparatus becomes greater than above it. The helicopter seems to rest on the air below it and takes off.

Rarefied air does not allow you to create the desired pressure. In such conditions, it will be necessary to greatly increase the engine power and the speed of the propellers, which the materials themselves will not withstand. As a rule, helicopters fly in denser air at altitudes of 3-4 thousand meters. Only once did the pilot Jean Boulet lift his car to 12.5 thousand meters, however, the engine caught fire.

The amount of oxygen and nitrogen decreases sharply with altitude. It's all about the pressure difference between the upper and lower layers of the atmosphere. The upper layers put a lot of pressure on the lower ones, so the latter have much more air and lower pressure. Climbers, when climbing to great heights, experience some difficulties.

It all depends on the height at which the person is located. If it does not exceed 1 km, the difference is almost imperceptible, and there will be no harm to the body. An altitude of 1 to 3 km also cannot harm a healthy person (the body easily compensates for the lack of oxygen). Sick people, especially those who suffer from asthma, should not go on such a dangerous journey.

At an altitude of 5 to 6 km, the body of a healthy person mobilizes all systems and forces them to work in increased mode due to lack of oxygen. A trained person can cope with such a height, which is why various research bases and observatories are often located here. Healthy sleep and proper nutrition help scientists' bodies cope with stressful situations.

Places located at an altitude of 7 km and above are unsuitable for human life. There is so little oxygen here that the blood cannot fully deliver it to all organs. They begin to experience oxygen starvation. A person feels tired, headaches, and their general condition worsens. A person can spend no more than 3 days at an altitude of 8 km and above.

Life in the Highlands

Residents of mountainous areas have much better health and live longer than residents of the plains. What explains this? Oxygen by its nature is a strong oxidizing agent. Any oxidizing agent in the body causes aging to a greater or lesser extent. But a person cannot live either. To improve health, you need a slightly lower oxygen content in the air than on the plains.

The optimal altitude for a comfortable life is about 1500 meters above sea level. The body experiences slight oxygen starvation, which turns on all systems in enhanced mode. Blood circulation and ventilation of the lungs improve, and the level of hemoglobin in the blood increases.

American scientists have noticed that people living in the mountains are characterized by guttural sounds in their speech. At high altitudes, it is much easier to pronounce such sounds, since this requires compressing the air in the throat. This is easiest to do in the highlands, since the air here is thinner than on the plains.

What is thin air? Explain to me like a fool what rarefied air is...

1. So guys, I want to reassure everyone... First of all, the molecules are not getting smaller! they simply move away from each other... It follows that the concentration of gases does not change, the volume of the gas mixture system changes! And this happens due to a decrease in pressure... The gas mixture is like a spring, the more you compress it, the less volume it will ultimately occupy... The lower the potential pressure, the greater the volume! With the same concentration but a larger volume, our body must ventilate more air, but since the volume of the lungs has its maximum, and is unable to take in more, we experience malaise (hypoxia)
2. Now, if you imagine air as water, then in a liter jar there will be less than a liter and there will be nothing else... drops of water will seem to retreat from each other.
   That's how it is with air
3. You climb a high mountain and oops! But I can’t breathe))
   In general, this is low atmospheric pressure, observed at high altitudes.
4. 
   
   Hence the meaning of the word “rarefied” - air. in which molecules are located less frequently. Because there are simply fewer of them there.

   I saw it. How do you inflate a ball with a pump? Air is pumped into it, there are more air molecules there, and since they always move chaotically, they now more often hit the walls of the ball from the inside and put pressure on it. That's why the inflated ball is so elastic.
   Now imagine that the pump works in the opposite direction - it pumps out air. Of course, the ball will simply flatten and that’s all. But if instead of a ball we have a rigid vessel - glass, metal, then it retains its shape and size. But when pumped out, there is actually less air (and molecules) in it. This kind of air is called rarefied.

   This is how rarefied air is obtained artificially. But it also happens in nature. Namely:
   The higher you go up the mountains from sea level, the thinner the air becomes. Therefore, it is difficult to breathe high in the mountains; climbers even wear oxygen masks. And even higher, where planes fly, the air is even thinner. And if the sealing of the plane is broken, the passengers will die very quickly. You may ask: why do planes fly so high if it is dangerous? This is forced by strict economic interests: the thin air is much less dense than below, and therefore has less resistance. This means that the plane can fly at higher speeds, the flight time is reduced, and fuel is saved.

   PS Isn't it time to take a break from physics? . Take a look at my page (in My World), look through the photo albums...

5. Anatoly Shodoev Enlightened (48195) 5 years ago
   First of all, I won’t explain it like a fool. I’ll explain it like a normal student who didn’t understand the topic a little.
   Secondly, well done. that you spell the word sparse correctly. A lot of people write discharged, maybe they even think that this word comes from the word “discharge”.
   In fact. Of course, the underlying word is “rarely.”
   ======================================================
   How then do you understand how to discharge the AK 47 assault rifle? If this word is based on “rarely”?
6. There is such a thing as pressure. imagine that there is a certain amount of air in the piston, we pull back the piston, and now the previous volume has doubled, but there is as much air left there as there was before. This will be rarefied air, as opposed to, for example, the excess air pressure in the tires of a car. And don't call yourself a fool, it's bad
7. “Then how do we understand how to discharge the AK 47 assault rifle? If this word is based on “rarely”?”
   Sparse comes from the word rarely.
   And discharge comes from the word discharge.

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