What is the difference between atmosphere and space

Answer: No Without protection in this severe environment, you would die in less than a minute. You would lose consciousness due to the lack of oxygen, the absence of air pressure would cause your blood and other body fluids to boil, and your tissues or internal organs would expand but not explode, as depicted in some science fiction films and finally, ultimately freeze. You would also be exposed to extreme temperatures, radiation from the sun on Earth you might get a sunburn from the sun's UV rays in minutes, but in outer space you could get second degree burns in seconds!

The first step to staying healthy in space is to understand the differences between Earth and space. The three main differences between the two environments are write these on the board : the amosphere or air it's a vacuum in space, which means there is no air to breathe , extreme radiation from the sun, and gravity it is weightless in space; we call that microgravity. These are our three words for today: atmosphere or air, radiation and gravity. In future lessons, we will look at how these environmental differences particularly microgravity affect each system of the body respiratory, circulatory, etc.

There are a lot of challenges that engineers need to think about when designing spacecraft and planning space missions. Can you think of what they are? Today, we are going to learn more about what engineers can do to help keep humans safe in space. Outer space is a unique environment that is very different from Earth. It is necessary to understand as much as possible about this environment as well as the human body in order to ensure the success of future manned missions to space.

The goal of this unit is to teach students about and generate interest in the complexities of the human body and its relationship to the space program by using a spaceflight theme. Each lesson first looks at how a particular system of the body works on Earth and then explores how the space environment affects its functionality.

This first lesson "launches" the unit by examining how the space environment differs from Earth. The three major differences are: atmosphere vacuum in space , radiation high level of dangerous particles , and gravity weightlessness in space.

The first difference between the Earth and space is the atmosphere. The atmosphere of the Earth is composed of a very specific mixture of gases. Engineers provide astronauts with oxygen and nitrogen and remove carbon dioxide from the air to keep them alive and healthy.

So why don't they just use pure oxygen so they just have to transport one type of gas? The main reason is that breathing pure oxygen over long periods of time is toxic to the human body. Another reason is that pure oxygen is extremely combustible.

Along with providing air for the astronauts, engineers also must design a sturdy structure that can maintain atmospheric pressure and minimize air leaks. This pressure is important because it is what pushes the air in and out of the lungs; astronauts could not breathe without it. Figure 2. Another problem caused by the lack of an atmosphere is temperature extremes.

One of the ways that engineers solved this problem was by designing special black and white tiles to cover the outside of the shuttle see Figure 3. The reason that the tiles are white on the top and black on the bottom of the shuttle is to provide the astronauts with another means of thermal control.

They are able to roll the shuttle on its side, one way or the other, depending on if it is getting too hot or cold that is, they point the black surface towards the sun if it is too cold and the white side if it is too hot. Figure 3. Radiation , the second difference between the Earth and space, is another engineering challenge involved with the space environment.

Solar flares are continuously blasting energetic radiation into space see Figure 4. Electromagnetic such as gamma rays; see Figure 6 and other types of particulate radiation such as high mass and energy [HZE] particles and solar energetic [SPE] particles can also cause significant damage to the human body. Radiation is cumulative, and the amount of energy absorbed in the body is measured in RAD radiation absorbed dose. Figure 4. Solar flare. Humans obtain radiation either genetically or by exposure.

This collective amount of radiation can cause tissue damage, loss of fertility, lens thickening, cancer induction, and even death. Each individual reacts differently to similar amounts of radiation; however, sickness usually occurs around RAD and RAD is lethal. The average exposure in the U. On Earth, humans are protected from most of the sun's ultraviolet rays non-ionizing and its gamma rays ionizing radiation by the atmosphere as well as the magnetic field of the Earth.

Currently, engineers use polyethylene and water bags as shielding for the astronauts, particularly around the astronaut's sleeping quarters. Future shielding methods could include liquid hydrogen, a small magnetic field around the spacecraft, or some kind of pharmaceutical to prevent the body from absorbing radiation. Figure 5. Figure 6. The electromagnetic spectrum. Figure 7. Astronauts in microgravity. Since space is so vast and it is difficult to tell the boundary of atmosphere, a lot of people go with the convenience of regarding the entire region outside of a planet as space, including atmosphere in it.

Atmosphere and space differ from each other on the account of their composition. While atmosphere consists of gas molecules, space is believed to be a perfect vacuum, having no molecules in it. Since there are no gases and consequently no oxygen in space, it does not support life. Atmosphere, on the other hand, can support life, as can be clearly seen in the case of planet Earth, i. One more thing to note is that in atmosphere, the pressure of gases is direction proportional to the distance from the sea level.

Another thing that sets atmosphere apart from space is the variation in temperature. Depending on the height from the sea level, the temperature level varies, becoming lower as the distance from the sea level increases. International law states that outer space shall be free for exploration and use by all, but there is no definitive law stating where national air space actually ends and outer space begins. This leaves the door open for a variety of interpretations. In theory, once this km line is crossed, the atmosphere becomes too thin to provide enough lift for conventional aircraft to maintain flight.

At this altitude, a conventional plane would need to reach orbital velocity or risk falling back to Earth. The U. Pilots, mission specialists and civilians who cross this boundary are officially deemed astronauts. Here, the atmosphere becomes incredibly thin and starts to give way to the stronger, more violent solar winds of the sun. This way of defining space complicates things a bit, though. At that altitude the International Space Station orbiting between to miles up , the space shuttle which orbited miles up and some of NOAA's polar-orbiting satellites orbiting miles up would not be considered spacecraft!

In , researchers at the University of Calgary designed and launched the Supra-Thermal Ion Imager , an instrument developed to measure the transition between the relatively gentle winds of Earth's atmosphere and the more violent flows of charged particles in space.

According to their data, the edge of space begins at km 73 miles above sea level.