A physics debate on measuring the atmosphere.(Local)(Letter to the editor)

From: The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA) | Date: May 1, 2006 | Copyright information

Use constant mass

Re "Here's lookin' at you, Earth" (Daily Break, April 22):

The illustration of the fragility of the Earth's atmosphere was very fitting. You indicated the average depth of the atmosphere to be 18.6 miles.

I suggest that a constant mass "effective depth" is more appropriate for the illustration. The atmosphere is a gas, and mass density decreases with altitude.

If the atmosphere could be uniformly compressed to the standard mass density near sea level, the depth would only be 5 miles:

Depth = Pressure/Density = (14.7 x 144) / (.08 x 5280) = ...

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