THE COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE OF THE TERRESTRIAL ATMOSPHERE

Abstract

After a generel description of the various regions of the terrestrial atmospbere, an analysis of physical conditions leading to the knowledge of the heterosphere is given. Molecular dissociation and diffusion in the lower thermosphere are introduced to determine the concentration of various constituents (N2, O2, O, N, He, H). Ultraviolet heating and conduction are considered as essential processes of production and loss of heat in the thermosphere. Finally, the ionospheric diffusion equilibrium is studied after considering the system of ionic reactions occuring in the ionosphere.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 15, 1963
Accession Number
AD0299992

Entities

People

  • Marcel Nicolet

Organizations

  • Pennsylvania State University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Atmospheres
  • Charged Particles
  • Chemical Reaction Properties
  • Chemical Reactions
  • Corpuscular Radiation
  • Cosmic Rays
  • Diffusion
  • Dissociation
  • Electrons
  • Ionization
  • Ionosphere
  • Magnetic Fields
  • Photoionization
  • Solar Radiation
  • Solar Ultraviolet Radiation
  • Temperature Gradients
  • Ultraviolet Radiation

Readers

  • Aquatic Ecology
  • Combustion science or combustion engineering.
  • Molecular Photonics/Laser Physics