eBook - ePub
An Ocean of Air
Why the Wind Blows and Other Mysteries of the Atmosphere
- 290 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
About this book
The science and history of what lies between us and space: "I never knew air could be so interesting." —Bill Bryson,
New York Times bestselling author of
The Body: A Guide for Occupants
A flamboyant Renaissance Italian discovers how heavy our air really is (the air filling Carnegie Hall, for example, weighs seventy thousand pounds). A one-eyed barnstorming pilot finds a set of winds that constantly blow five miles above our heads. An impoverished American farmer figures out why hurricanes move in a circle by carving equations with his pitchfork on a barn door. A well-meaning inventor nearly destroys the ozone layer (he also came up with the idea of putting lead in gasoline). A reclusive mathematical genius predicts, thirty years before he's proven right, that the sky contains a layer of floating metal fed by the glowing tails of shooting stars.
We don't just live in the air; we live because of it. It's the most miraculous substance on earth, responsible for our food, our weather, our water, and our ability to hear. In this exuberant book, science writer Gabrielle Walker peels back the layers of our atmosphere with the stories of the people who have uncovered its secrets.
"A sense of wonder . . . animates Ms. Walker's high-spirited narrative and speeds it along like a fresh-blowing westerly." — The New York Times
"A fabulous introduction to the world above our heads." — Daily Mail on Sunday
"A lively history of scientists' and adventurers' exploration of this important and complex contributor to life on Earth . . . readers will find this informative book to be a breath of fresh air." — Publishers Weekly
A flamboyant Renaissance Italian discovers how heavy our air really is (the air filling Carnegie Hall, for example, weighs seventy thousand pounds). A one-eyed barnstorming pilot finds a set of winds that constantly blow five miles above our heads. An impoverished American farmer figures out why hurricanes move in a circle by carving equations with his pitchfork on a barn door. A well-meaning inventor nearly destroys the ozone layer (he also came up with the idea of putting lead in gasoline). A reclusive mathematical genius predicts, thirty years before he's proven right, that the sky contains a layer of floating metal fed by the glowing tails of shooting stars.
We don't just live in the air; we live because of it. It's the most miraculous substance on earth, responsible for our food, our weather, our water, and our ability to hear. In this exuberant book, science writer Gabrielle Walker peels back the layers of our atmosphere with the stories of the people who have uncovered its secrets.
"A sense of wonder . . . animates Ms. Walker's high-spirited narrative and speeds it along like a fresh-blowing westerly." — The New York Times
"A fabulous introduction to the world above our heads." — Daily Mail on Sunday
"A lively history of scientists' and adventurers' exploration of this important and complex contributor to life on Earth . . . readers will find this informative book to be a breath of fresh air." — Publishers Weekly
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
At the moment all of our mobile-responsive ePub books are available to download via the app. Most of our PDFs are also available to download and we're working on making the final remaining ones downloadable now. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access An Ocean of Air by Gabrielle Walker in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Physical Sciences & Science History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- Title Page
- Contents
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Prologue
- COMFORT BLANKET
- The Ocean Above Us
- Elixir of Life
- Food and Warmth
- Blowing in the Wind
- SHELTERING SKY
- The Hole Story
- Mirror in the Sky
- The Final Frontier
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- Suggestions for Further Reading
- Endnotes
- Index
- About the Author