Height of the Atmosphere

Most recent answer: 10/22/2007

Q:
im tryin to write a book and i have some physics q?s how many feet from sea level to the top of Earth’s atmosphere?
- Crush Revczar (age 19)
FireStar Inc., ILL USA
A:
Hi Crush- I’m curious what the book will be about. Meanwhile:

The Earth’s atmosphere has no definite top. The air just keeps getting thinner as you go up. For each mile up you go, the density falls to about 80% of what it was before. (That’s why curveballs don’t curve as much in Denver as they do in cities at lower altitudes.)

Mike W.

(published on 10/22/2007)