Ατμόσφαιρα – Atmosphera
Origin:
From the Greek Atmos meaning vapour and sphaira, meaning ball or globe.
Story:
Used in its modern sense since the 17th century, to mean the gases surrounding the planet. The Earth’s atmosphere is made up of 78.1 % Nitrogen and 20.9 % Oxygen and 0.93 % Argon.
The term was coined by Willibrord Snell van Royen, a Dutch Astronomer and Mathematician who in 1621 invented the Law of Refraction which is basic to modern geometrical optics and the creation of lenses. He was actually 600 years too late as the concept had already been pondered by the mathematician Ibn Sahl, a Persian mathematician who himself was s student of the works of Ptolemy
There are five layers of atmosphere – from inner to outer – Troposphere (turning or mixing), Stratosphere (layered), Mesosphere (middle), Thermosphere (heat) and (Outside) Exosphere. Together they protect us from harmful rays from the Sun and regulate temperatures.
See also:
Sphere, Planet, Mathematics, Nitrogen, Oxygen
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