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  2. Atmospheric escape - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_escape

    One classical thermal escape mechanism is Jeans escape, [1] named after British astronomer Sir James Jeans, who first described this process of atmospheric loss. [2] In a quantity of gas, the average velocity of any one molecule is measured by the gas's temperature, but the velocities of individual molecules change as they collide with one another, gaining and losing kinetic energy.

  3. Escape velocity - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_velocity

    In most situations it is impractical to achieve escape velocity almost instantly, because of the acceleration implied, and also because if there is an atmosphere, the hypersonic speeds involved (on Earth a speed of 11.2 km/s, or 40,320 km/h) would cause most objects to burn up due to aerodynamic heating or be torn apart by atmospheric drag. For ...

  4. Atmosphere of Earth - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Earth

    The troposphere is the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere. It extends from Earth's surface to an average height of about 12 km (7.5 mi; 39,000 ft), although this altitude varies from about 9 km (5.6 mi; 30,000 ft) at the geographic poles to 17 km (11 mi; 56,000 ft) at the Equator, [17] with some variation due

  5. Atmospheric entry - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_entry

    The Stardust sample-return capsule was the fastest man-made object ever to reenter Earth's atmosphere, at 28,000 mph (ca. 12.5 km/s) at 135 km altitude. This was faster than the Apollo mission capsules and 70% faster than the Shuttle. [1] PICA was critical for the viability of the Stardust mission, which returned to Earth in 2006.

  6. Thermal velocity - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_velocity

    Thermal velocity or thermal speed is a typical velocity of the thermal motion of particles that make up a gas, liquid, etc. Thus, indirectly, thermal velocity is a measure of temperature. Technically speaking, it is a measure of the width of the peak in the Maxwell–Boltzmann particle velocity distribution

  7. Atmospheric thermodynamics - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_thermodynamics

    Atmospheric thermodynamics is the study of heat-to-work transformations (and their reverse) that take place in the Earth's atmosphere and manifest as weather or climate. . Atmospheric thermodynamics use the laws of classical thermodynamics, to describe and explain such phenomena as the properties of moist air, the formation of clouds, atmospheric convection, boundary layer meteorology, and ...

  8. Hydrodynamic escape - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrodynamic_escape

    Hydrodynamic escape flux (Φ, [m-2 s-1]) in an energy-limited escape can be calculated, assuming (1) an atmosphere composed of non-viscous, (2) constant-molecular-weight gas, with (3) isotropic pressure, (4) fixed temperature, (5) perfect extreme ultraviolet (XUV) absorption, and that (6) pressure decreases to zero as distance from the planet ...

  9. Diffusion-limited escape - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion-limited_escape

    For hydrogen (gas 1) diffusion through air (gas 2) in the heterosphere on Earth , = m⋅s −2, and K. Both H and H 2 diffuse through the heterosphere, so we will use a diffusion parameter that is the weighted sum of H and H 2 number densities at the tropopause.