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atmospheric gas
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BY The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica | View Edit History

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Carl von Linde Henry Cavendish Robert Boyle Anaximenes Of Miletus Ctesibius Of Alexandria
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Air, mixture of gases comprising the Earth’s atmosphere. The mixture

contains a group of gases of nearly constant concentrations and a
group with concentrations that are variable in both space and time.
The atmospheric gases of steady concentration (and their proportions
in percentage by volume) are as follows:

nitrogen (N2) 78.084

oxygen (O2) 20.946

argon (Ar) 0.934
neon (Ne) 0.0018

helium (He) 0.000524

methane (CH4) 0.0002

krypton (Kr) 0.000114

hydrogen (H2) 0.00005

nitrous oxide (N2O) 0.00005

xenon (Xe) 0.0000087

The uniformity of composition is maintained by mixing associated

with atmospheric motions; but, above a height of about 90 km (55
miles), diffusional processes become more important than mixing, and
the lighter gases (hydrogen and helium, in particular) are more
abundant above that level.
BRITANNICA QUIZ

Wind and Air: Fact or Fiction?

 Do trade winds blow from north to south? Are aerosols small particles? Blow through

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Of the gases present in variable concentrations, water vapour, ozone,

carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide are of principal
importance. The typical concentration ranges of these gases (in
percentage by volume) are as follows:

water vapour (H2O) 0 to 7

carbon dioxide (CO2) 0.01 to 0.1 (average about 0.032)

ozone (O3) 0 to 0.01

sulfur dioxide (SO2) 0 to 0.0001

nitrogen dioxide (NO2) 0 to 0.000002

Although present in relatively small amounts, these

variable constituents may be very important for maintaining life on
Earth’s surface. Water vapour is the source for all forms of
precipitation and is an important absorber and emitter of infrared
radiation. Carbon dioxide, besides being involved in the process
of photosynthesis, is also an important absorber and emitter of
infrared radiation. Ozone, which is present mainly in the atmospheric
region 10 to 50 km (6 to 30 miles) above the Earth’s surface, is an
effective absorber of ultraviolet radiation from the Sun and effectively
shields the Earth from all radiation of wavelengths less than 3,000
angstroms.
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