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This is an archive of "Did You Know?" facts that were displayed on the front page of Open Site 1.0.
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Earth is primarily an oxygen, nitrogen atmosphere. Oxygen makes up 21 percent
of the atmosphere, with nitrogen taking up nearly the rest. No other
planet in the solar system even comes close to having a 21 percent
oxygen content. The atmosphere is thick, extending upward around 100
miles, although becomes less dense rapidly above 20,000 feet. The
atmosphere is able to protect life by reducing incoming ultraviolet
radiation from the Sun and by vaporizing most meteors through intense
heat as they enter our atmosphere.
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The Earth is characterized by complex weather systems carried by
high winds aloft. The winds aloft can exceed 150 mph, mainly north of
the tropics in what is referred to as the jet stream. Making the
weather even more complex, is the interaction of our oceans and other
large bodies of water on short and long term events. Clouds are made of
water vapor and/or ice. This balance of water and ice in the clouds is
what is able to create precipitation. Precipitation is formed primarily
in two processes. In the tropics, where ice in the clouds is
non-existent or extremely limited, precipitation is formed by the
coalescence of cloud water droplets. After coalescence, the drops will
finally become heavy enough to fall through the atmosphere and reach
the surface. The other main precipitation process is through the
interaction of water vapor and ice in clouds north of the tropics. In
general, an ice particle has a lower saturation vapor pressure than
water. The sequence of events can literally "draw" the water droplet
toward the ice particle where the two accrete. Finally, the particle
will become heavy enough to fall through the atmosphere as rain or
hail.
Diurnal temperature swings on Earth can range from very large in
dry climates to minimal in humid regions. Overall, the warmest recorded
temperature on Earth is 135.9 degrees F. in Libya and the coldest
recorded temperature is -128.6 degrees F. in Antarctica. Although the
greenhouse effect has received a lot of bad attention as of late,
without it, life on Earth would cease. The very small amount of carbon
dioxide that is in the Earth's atmosphere produces just enough
greenhouse effect to raise the Earth's temperature from -6 degrees F.
to an average of 57 degrees F. As one can see, without the greenhouse
effect, water would freeze and Earth would become just another lifeless
planet.
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Bop is a type of jazz developed in the early forties and centered in New York City. It was a rebellion against the structure and regimentation of the swing bands. In bop, the soloists created chordal improvisation using the underlying chord structure of a song rather than the melody as the basis for a solo.
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