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Astrophysics/Big tube from earth...

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Expert: - 10/20/2008


Question
What would happen if you took a big tube and put on end inside the earth's atmosphere and the other end in space, past the earth's gravitational pull? Would all of the air in the atmosphere get sucked out?

Answer
Not likely at all! The air molecules of our atmosphere, remember, are held (more or less) in place by the force of gravity. The only thing that would or could dislodge them (to our detriment) would be if enough heating occurred so that their velocities exceeded the escape velocity for Earth. Ignoring air fricton this is about 7 miles per second, or 25,000 miles per hour.

Simply setting up a long long tube as you describe won't do much more than give you a headache trying to balance the thing (long enough) with the Coriolis force acting. In other words, your "tube" will more quickly fall down under its own weight than that many air molecules - if any - get transported from near the surface of the planet to space!

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Philip A. Stahl

Expertise

I specialize in stellar and solar astrophysics. Can answer any questions pertaining to these areas, the spectroscopic analysis of stars – as well as the magneto-hydrodynamics of sunspots and solar flares. Sorry – No homework problems done or research projects! I will provide hints on solutions.

Experience

Have published papers on the relationship between sunspot morphology and solar flares; discovery of SID flares related to this, constructed computerized stellar models; MHD research.

Organizations
American Astronomical Society (Solar physics and Dynamical astronomy divisions), American Geophysical Union, American Mathematical Society, Intertel.

Publications
Solar Physics, Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Journal of the Barbados Astronomical Society, Meudon Solar Flare Proceedings (Meudon, France). Books: 'Selected Analyses in Solar Flare Plasma Dynamics', 'Physics Notes for Advanced Level'.

Education/Credentials
B.A. degree in Astronomy; M.Phil. degree in Physics - specializing in solar physics.

Awards and Honors
Postgraduate research award- Barbados government; Studentship Award in Solar Physics - American Astronomical Society

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