Answer to Question #199198 in Physics for Zuhaib Ali

Question

respected sir,

           I have a question regarding gas law, As we know that In colder regions where density is high but the temperature is low both are inversely proportional to each other, A little confusion when we start gaining altitude the temperature drops, Density drops and pressure drops.... WHY?

Answer 1

The basic answer is that the farther away you get from the earth, the thinner the atmosphere gets. The total heat content of a system is directly related to the amount of matter present, so it is cooler at higher elevations.

The heating of the earth itself also plays a role. The planet is warmed by incoming solar energy. Some of this heat bounces off the atmosphere and never reaches the lower atmosphere, and some is re-radiated back to space. In addition, the atmosphere acts like a greenhouse to reflect some of the heat back toward the earth's surface. At higher altitudes it is relatively harder to retain this energy as more heat is lost to space.