An Ocean of Air : Why the Wind Blows and Other Mysteries of the Atmosphere

The ocean above us -- Elixir of life -- Food and warmth -- Blowing in the wind -- The hole story -- Mirror in the sky -- The final frontier.;A study of Earth's atmosphere traces a journey of scientific discovery, from the Renaissance scientist who realized that we live at the bottom of a dense ocean of air, to a well-meaning inventor who nearly destroys the ozone layer.

in 1960, Captain Joseph Kittinger Fell To Earth From The Edge Of Space And Lived. He Stepped From The Basket Of A Gigantic Helium Balloon Into An Appalling, Hostile Environment Which, Without The Protection Of A Pressure Suit, Would Have Simultaneously Frozen His Body And Boiled Away His Blood. It Is The Air That Kittinger Fell Through That Makes Our Lives On Earth Possible.

air Is About More Than Just Breathing. Air Transforms Miraculously Into Solid Food, And Without It Every Creature On Earth Would Starve; It Wraps Our Planet In A Blanket Of Warmth; Radio Signals Bounce Off A Floating Mirror Of Metal In The Air To Travel Round The World; And The Outer Layer Of Our Atmosphere Soaks Up Flares From The Sun More Violent Than All The World's Nuclear Warheads Put Together. In This Exuberant Work, Gabrielle Walker Peels Back The Layers Of Our Atmosphere With Stories Of The People Who Uncovered Its Secrets:

• A Flamboyant Renaissance Italian Discovers How Heavy Our Air Really Is: The Air Filling Carnegie Hall, For Example, Weighs Seventy Thousand Pounds.

• A One-eyed Barnstorming Pilot Finds Invisible Winds [or Giant Rivers Of Air?] That Blow With The Force Of A Hurricane Five Miles Above Our Heads.

• An Impoverished American Farmer Figures Out Why Storms Move In A Circle By Carving Equations With His Pitchfork On A Barn Door.

• A Well-meaning But Ill-fated Inventor Creates Wonder Chemicals That Nearly Destroy The Ozone Layer (he Also Came Up With The Idea To Put Lead In Gasoline [he Did The Lead First]).

• A Reclusive Mathematical Genius With A Predilection For Painting His Toenails Cherry Red Figures Out The Technology That Would Come To The Rescue Of The Titanic.

an Ocean Of Air Is A Triumphant Celebration Of The Fragile Complexity Of Earth's Atmosphere And A Completely Engaging Work Of Popular Science.

the New York Times - William Grimes

…ms. Walker, While Cruising Along At A Breathtaking Clip, Manages To Explain With Exemplary Clarity The Chemistry Of The Atmosphere, The Mechanics Of Wind And The Role Of The Enveloping Layers That Swaddle The Earth, Protecting It From The Sun And Occasionally Putting On A Grand Show, Like The Northern Lights…[she] Takes Her Title From Evangelista Torricelli, An Italian Mathematician And Colleague Of Galileo's Who, Marveling At The Power And Weight Of The Atmosphere, Exclaimed In A Letter In 1644, We Live Submerged At The Bottom Of An Ocean Of Air. This Sense Of Wonder, Transmitted Down Through The Ages Through Generations Of Scientists, Animates Ms. Walker's High-spirited Narrative And Speeds It Along Like A Fresh-blowing Westerly. It May Be Science Lite, But Out Of Thin Air, Ms. Walker Conjures Marvelous Shapes And Forms.

The science and history of what lies between us and space: "I never knew air could be so interesting." —Bill Bryson, New York Times bestselling author of The Body: A Guide for Occupants A flamboyant Renaissance Italian discovers how heavy our air really is (the air filling Carnegie Hall, for example, weighs seventy thousand pounds). A one-eyed barnstorming pilot finds a set of winds that constantly blow five miles above our heads. An impoverished American farmer figures out why hurricanes move in a circle by carving equations with his pitchfork on a barn door. A well-meaning inventor nearly destroys the ozone layer (he also came up with the idea of putting lead in gasoline). A reclusive mathematical genius predicts, thirty years before he's proven right, that the sky contains a layer of floating metal fed by the glowing tails of shooting stars. We don't just live in the air; we live because of it. It's the most miraculous substance on earth, responsible for our food, our weather, our water, and our ability to hear. In this exuberant book, science writer Gabrielle Walker peels back the layers of our atmosphere with the stories of the people who have uncovered its secrets. "A sense of wonder . . . animates Ms. Walker's high-spirited narrative and speeds it along like a fresh-blowing westerly." — The New York Times "A fabulous introduction to the world above our heads." — Daily Mail on Sunday "A lively history of scientists' and adventurers' exploration of this important and complex contributor to life on Earth . . . readers will find this informative book to be a breath of fresh air." — Publishers Weekly We spend our lives surrounded by air, hardly even noticing it. It's the most miraculous substance on earth, yet responsible for our food, our weather, our water, and our ability to hear. In fact, we live at the bottom of an ocean of air. In this [volume, the author] peels back the layers of our atmosphere with the stories of the people who uncovered its secrets: flamboyant Renaissance Italian discovers how heavy our air really is: The air filling Carnegie Hall, for example, weighs seventy thousand pounds; one-eyed barnstorming pilot finds a set of winds that constantly blow five miles above our heads; impoverished American farmer figures out why hurricanes move in a circle by carving equations with his pitchfork on a barn door; well-meaning inventor nearly destroys the ozone layer; reclusive mathematical genius predicts, thirty years before he's proved right, that the sky contains a layer of floating metal fed by the glowing tails of shooting stars.-http://www.loc.gov/catdir We don't just live in the air; we live because of it. It's the most miraculous substance on earth, responsible for our food, our weather, our water, and our ability to hear. In this exuberant book, gifted science writer Gabrielle Walker peels back the layers of our atmosphere with the stories of the people who uncovered its secrets: A flamboyant Renaissance Italian discovers how heavy our air really is: The air filling Carnegie Hall, for example, weighs seventy thousand pounds. A one-eyed barnstorming pilot finds a set of winds that constantly blow five miles above our heads. An impoverished American farmer figures out why hurricanes move in a circle by carving equations with his pitchfork on a barn door. A well-meaning inventor nearly destroys the ozone layer. A reclusive mathematical genius predicts, thirty years before he's proved right, that the sky contains a layer of floating metal fed by the glowing tails of shooting stars.