Thermosphere

Information about Thermosphere

The thermosphere is the layer of the earth's atmosphere directly above the mesosphere and directly below the exosphere. Within this layer, ultraviolet radiation causes ionization. (see also: ionosphere). It is the fourth atmospheric layer from earth.

The thermosphere, named from the Greek θερμός (thermos) for heat, begins about 80 km above the earth. At these high altitudes, the residual atmospheric gases sort into strata according to molecular mass (see turbosphere). Thermospheric temperatures increase with altitude due to absorption of highly energetic solar radiation by the small amount of residual oxygen still present. Temperatures are highly dependent on solar activity, and can rise to 2,000°C. Radiation causes the air particles in this layer to become electrically charged (see ionosphere), enabling radio waves to bounce off and be received beyond the horizon. At the exosphere, beginning at 500 to 1,000km above the earth's surface, the atmosphere blends into space.

The few particles of gas in this area can reach 2,500°C (4500°F) during the day. Even though the temperature is so high, one would not feel warm in the thermosphere, because it is so near vacuum that there is not enough contact with the few atoms of gas to transfer much heat. A normal thermometer would read significantly below 0°C.

The upper region of this atmospheric layer is called the ionsphere.

The dynamics of the lower thermosphere (below about 120 km) is dominated by atmospheric tide which is driven, in part, by the very significant diurnal heating. The atmospheric tide dissipates above this level since molecular concentrations do not support the coherent motion needed for fluid flow.

The International Space Station has a stable orbit within the upper part of the thermosphere, between 320 and 380 kilometers. The Aurora also occur in the thermosphere.

Ultraviolet (UV) light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than soft X-rays. It is so named because the spectrum starts with wavelengths slightly shorter than the wavelengths humans identify as the color violet
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ion is an atom or molecule which has lost or gained one or more electrons, making it positively or negatively charged. A negatively charged ion, which has more electrons in its electron shells than it has protons in its nuclei, is known as an anion
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ionosphere is the uppermost part of the atmosphere, distinguished because it is ionized by solar radiation. It plays an important part in atmospheric electricity and forms the inner edge of the magnetosphere.
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Writing system: Greek alphabet
Official status
Official language of: Greece
Cyprus
European Union
recognised as minority language in parts of:
European Union
Italy
Turkey
Regulated by:
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molecular mass (abbreviated Mr) of a substance, formerly also called molecular weight and abbreviated as MW, is the mass of one molecule of that substance, relative to the unified atomic mass unit u (equal to 1/12 the mass of one atom of carbon-12).
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The turbosphere (or homosphere) is that portion of the atmosphere that is sufficiently well-stirred by atmospheric motion that long-lived gases are well-mixed and do not appreciably separate by weight.
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trillion fold).]]

Temperature is a physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold; something that is hotter generally has the greater temperature. Temperature is one of the principal parameters of thermodynamics.
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Solar radiation is radiant energy emitted by the sun from a nuclear fusion reaction that creates electromagnetic energy. The spectrum of solar radiation is close to that of a black body with a temperature of about 5800 K.
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2, −1
(neutral oxide)
Electronegativity 3.44 (Pauling scale)
Ionization energies
(more) 1st: 1313.9 kJmol⁻¹
2nd: 3388.3 kJmol⁻¹
3rd: 5300.5 kJmol⁻¹

Atomic radius 60 pm
Atomic radius (calc.
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Radio Wave may mean:

Radio frequency
Radio Wave 96.5, a radio station in Blackpool, UK

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contradict the article Timeline of temperature and pressure measurement technology. Please see discussion on the linked talk page.

A thermometer is a device that measures temperature or temperature gradient, using a variety of different principles.
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Atmospheric tides are global-scale periodic oscillations of the atmosphere. In many ways they are analogous to ocean tides. Atmospheric tides can be excited by:

The regular day/night cycle in the solar heating of the atmosphere

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International Space Station (ISS) is a research facility currently being assembled in space. The building of ISS started in 1998. The station is in a low Earth orbit and can be seen from Earth with the naked eye: its altitude varies from 319.6 km to 346.
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Auroras (or aurorae) [sing: aurora] are natural colored light displays, which are usually observed in the night sky, particularly in the polar zone. Some scientists therefore call them "polar auroras" (or "aurorae polaris").
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Kármán line lies at an altitude of 100 km (62.1 miles) above the Earth's surface, and is commonly used to define the boundary between the Earth's atmosphere and outer space.
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The Thermopause is the atmospheric boundary of Earth's energy system, located at the top of the thermosphere.

Below this, the atmosphere is defined to be active on the insolation received, due to the increased presence of heavier gases such as monoatomic oxygen.
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Atmospheric tides are global-scale periodic oscillations of the atmosphere. In many ways they are analogous to ocean tides. Atmospheric tides can be excited by:

The regular day/night cycle in the solar heating of the atmosphere

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not to scale.]]

The troposphere is the lowest portion of Earth's atmosphere. It contains approximately 75% of the atmosphere's mass and almost all of its water vapor and aerosols.

The average depth of the troposphere is about 11 km in the middle latitudes.
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to scale: from Earth's surface to the top of the stratosphere (50km) is just under 1% of Earth's radius. (click to enlarge)]]

The stratosphere is the second layer of Earth's atmosphere, just above the troposphere, and below the mesosphere.
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The tropopause is a boundary region in the atmosphere between the troposphere and the stratosphere. Here the air ceases to cool at -50°C, and the air becomes almost completely dry.
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The stratopause is the level of the atmosphere which is the boundary between two layers, stratosphere and the mesosphere. In the stratosphere the temperature increases with altitude, and the stratopause is the section where a maximum in the temperature occurs.
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Thermosphere

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