The air is rarefied or... How to create thin air in a simple way. What is thin air

Air density is not the same. Where it is smaller, the air is thinner. Let's find out what rarefied air means and what features it is characterized by.

Gas shell of the Earth

Air is an intangible, but extremely important component of our planet. It participates in the process of energy exchange, supporting all vital functions of organisms. It promotes the transmission of sounds, prevents hypothermia of the Earth and protects it from the excessive influence of solar radiation.

Air is the outer shell of the planet, called the atmosphere. It consists of many gases: neon, argon, hydrogen, methane, helium, krypton, etc. The main share is made up of oxygen and nitrogen, which make up 98% to 99% of air.

The ratio of gases and their quantity may vary. Thus, due to car exhaust and factory emissions, city air is more saturated with carbon dioxide. In forests, in areas where there is no industry, the amount of oxygen increases. But in the pasture area, the proportion of methane that cows emit during digestion is growing.

Air density

The density of the gas shell is influenced by many factors; it differs in different parts of the planet and at different altitudes. Air with low density is rarefied air (from the word “rare”). The rarer it is, the farther its molecules are from each other.

Density shows how much air is in one cubic meter of volume. The value chosen as the standard for this value is 1.293 kilograms per cubic meter under normal conditions and dry air.

In physical science, it is customary to distinguish between specific and mass densities. Specific determines one cubic meter. It depends on geographic latitude and inertia from the rotation of the planet. Mass is determined based on barometric pressure, absolute temperature and specific gas constant.

The main patterns of occurrence and principles of rarefied air are described by the Gay-Lussac and Boyle-Marriott laws. According to them, the higher the temperature and lower the pressure, the rarer the air. At the same time, its humidity is also important: as it increases, the density decreases.

Thin air and altitude

The force of gravity of the Earth, like a magnet, attracts all bodies accessible to it towards itself. That's why we walk, and don't float chaotically in space. Therefore, more molecules of matter accumulate at the bottom, which means that its density and pressure are also higher near the earth’s surface. The farther you are from it, the lower these indicators are.

Have you noticed that as you climb to higher altitudes, such as in the mountains, it becomes harder to breathe? This is due to the thin air there. With altitude, the total oxygen content in one liter of air becomes less. It does not saturate the blood properly and we experience difficulty breathing.

The height of Mount Everest is 8488 meters. At its summit, the air density is one third of the standard density at sea level. A person can notice changes already at an altitude of 1500 to 2500 meters. Further changes in density and pressure are felt more acutely and already pose a potential health risk.

The most rarefied air is characteristic of the exosphere - the outer layer of the atmosphere. It starts from an altitude of 500-1000 kilometers above. It smoothly moves into outer space, where space is close to a state of vacuum. The pressure and density of gas in space is very low.

Helicopter and thin air

A lot depends on the air density. For example, it defines a “ceiling” for rising above the earth’s surface. For a person it is ten thousand meters. But to rise so high requires a lot of preparation.

Aircraft also have their limits. For helicopters it is approximately 6 thousand meters. Much less than airplanes. Everything is explained by the design features and operating principles of this “bird”.

The helicopter gains lift using propellers. They rotate, dividing the air into two streams: above them and below them. In the upper part the air moves in the direction of the screws, in the lower part - against. Thus, the density under the wing of the device becomes greater than above it. The helicopter seems to lean on the air below it and takes off.

Rarefied air does not allow creating the required pressure. In such conditions, it will be necessary to greatly increase the engine power and the speed of the propellers, which the materials themselves will not withstand. As a rule, helicopters fly in denser air at altitudes of 3-4 thousand meters. Only once did the pilot Jean Boulet lift his car to 12.5 thousand meters, however, the engine caught fire.

Mountains attract people with their beauty and grandeur. Ancient, like eternity itself, beautiful, mysterious, bewitching the mind and heart, they do not leave a single person indifferent. Breathtaking views of mountain peaks covered with never-melting snow, forested slopes, and alpine meadows attract everyone who has at least once spent a vacation in the mountains to return.

It has long been noted that people in the mountains live longer than on the plain. Many of them, living to a ripe old age, retain good spirits and clarity of mind. They get sick less and recover faster from illness. Women in the middle mountains retain the ability to bear children much longer than women in the lowlands.

Breathtaking views of the mountains are complemented by the purest air, which is so pleasant to breathe deeply. Mountain air clean and filled with aromas of medicinal herbs and flowers. There is no dust, industrial soot or exhaust gases. You can breathe easily and it seems like you can’t get enough of it.

Mountains attract people not only with their beauty and grandeur, but also with a lasting improvement in well-being, a noticeable increase in performance, and a surge of strength and energy. In the mountains the air pressure is less than in the plains. At an altitude of 4 kilometers the pressure is 460 mmHg, and at an altitude of 6 km - 350 mmHg. As altitude increases, the density of the air decreases, and the amount of oxygen in the inhaled volume decreases accordingly, but paradoxically, this has a positive effect on human health.

Oxygen oxidizes our body, contributes to aging and the occurrence of many diseases. At the same time, life is completely impossible without it. Therefore, if we want to significantly extend life, we need to reduce the flow of oxygen into the body, but not too little and not too much. In the first case, there will be no therapeutic effect, but in the second, you can harm yourself. This golden mean is the mountain air of mid-mountains: 1200 - 1500 meters above sea level, where the oxygen content is approximately 10%.

At present, it has already been clearly established that there is only one factor that prolongs a person’s life in the mountains - this is mountain air, the oxygen content of which is reduced and this has a highly beneficial effect on the body.

Lack of oxygen causes a restructuring in the functioning of various body systems (cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous) and forces reserve forces to turn on. This, as it turns out, is a very effective, inexpensive, and most importantly accessible way to restore and improve health. When the amount of oxygen in the inhaled air decreases, a signal about this is transmitted through special receptors to the respiratory center of the medulla oblongata, and from there goes to the muscles. The work of the chest and lungs increases, the person begins to breathe more often, and accordingly the ventilation of the lungs and the delivery of oxygen to the blood improves. The heart rate increases, which increases blood circulation and oxygen reaches the tissues faster. This is also facilitated by the release of new red blood cells into the blood, and therefore the hemoglobin they contain.

This explains the beneficial effect of mountain air on a person’s vitality. Coming to mountain resorts, many notice that their mood improves and their vitality is activated.

But if you rise higher into the mountains, where the mountain air contains even less oxygen, the body will react to its lack in a completely different way. Hypoxia (lack of oxygen) will already be dangerous, and first of all the nervous system will suffer from it, and if there is not enough oxygen to maintain the functioning of the brain, a person may lose consciousness.

In the mountains, solar radiation is much stronger. This is due to the high transparency of the air, since its density and the content of dust and water vapor decrease with altitude. Solar radiation kills many harmful microorganisms that live in the air and decomposes organic matter. But most importantly, solar radiation ionizes mountain air, promoting the formation of ions, including negative ions of oxygen and ozone.

For the normal functioning of our body, both negatively and positively charged ions must be present in the air we breathe, and in a strictly defined ratio. Violation of this balance in any direction has a very adverse effect on our well-being and health. At the same time, negatively charged ions, according to modern scientific data, are necessary for humans just like vitamins in food.

In rural air, the concentration of ions of both charges on a sunny day reaches 800-1000 per 1 cubic cm. In some mountain resorts their concentration rises to several thousand. Therefore, mountain air has a healing effect on most living beings. Many of Russia's long-livers live in mountainous areas. Another effect of thin air is increasing the body’s resistance to the damaging effects of radiation. However, at high altitudes the proportion of ultraviolet radiation increases sharply. The impact of ultraviolet rays on the human body is very great. Possible skin burns. They have a harmful effect on the retina of the eyes, causing severe pain and sometimes temporary blindness. To protect your eyes, you must use glasses with light-protective lenses, and to protect your face, wear a wide-brimmed hat.

Recently, such techniques as orotherapy (treatment with mountain air) or normobaric hypoxic therapy (treatment with rarefied air with a low oxygen content) have become widespread in medicine. It has been precisely established that with the help of mountain air the following diseases can be prevented and treated: occupational diseases associated with damage to the upper respiratory tract, various forms of allergic and immunodeficiency conditions, bronchial asthma, a wide group of diseases of the nervous system, diseases of the musculoskeletal system, diseases cardiovascular system, gastrointestinal diseases, skin diseases. Hypoxytherapy eliminates side effects as a non-drug treatment method.

First of all, it is worth mentioning that we will talk about the meaning of the word “sparse” and not “discharged”. "Discharged" means "to be deprived of charge."

The revolver may be unloaded, but the air may be rarefied.

What is thin air

The word "sparse" comes from the adjective "sparse". That is, with reduced density. This is a state of air when the number of molecules per cubic centimeter of space becomes less than in the air that everyone is used to breathing.

In nature it is found at altitude. For example, in the mountains or in layers of the atmosphere that can be reached by plane. The higher you rise above ocean level, the thinner the air will become. As a result, it will turn into a vacuum, that is, a complete absence of air molecules in space.

The decrease in density with increasing altitude occurs because the further you are from the ground, the less the gravitational force of the earth affects the oxygen particles. It turns out that the maximum density of air is near the surface, especially where many plants grow, but in open space there is no air at all, there is a complete vacuum. You can also thin the air artificially.

On airplanes

A passenger plane rises above the earth's surface approximately 10-12 km. Flying vehicles with rocket and turbojet engines can fly up to 100 km, but ordinary people cannot fly on them; only people specially trained for this fly. At such a height, the life of the human body is impossible. If the door of an airplane in flight is opened or an emergency depressurization of the cabin occurs, then all passengers on the airplane will instantly die.

But even in a sealed, closed cabin, people will experience discomfort:

• high blood pressure;
• pawns ears;
• legs swell.

Frequent airplane flights are not good for your health. Pressure changes, high levels of carbon monoxide, too much acceleration - all this affects the cardiovascular system. Pregnant women and patients with hypertension are generally not recommended to move in this way.

In the mountains

The highest point on earth is the summit of Mount Everest. The maximum point of this mountain reaches more than 8 thousand meters, and this is very high.

Instinctively, a person is afraid of heights and strives to go lower. This happens not only because you can fall from a high place, but also because height can have a detrimental and even fatal effect on human health.

It is impossible to completely get used to the properties of thin air, but you can adapt. Climbers who climb high mountains spend years preparing for this. They also know that you need to climb gradually, having gained a certain height - you need to get used to it. If an unprepared person climbs sharply to Everest or even a mountain much lower, then he will probably suffer from altitude sickness. For a healthy, strong person, the critical altitude is 2.5 km and above, and for a sick or elderly person - from 1 km and above. The symptoms of this disease are as follows:

• headache and dizziness;
• dyspnea;
• vomit;
• a sharp loss of strength, and then a sudden surge of strength;
• inadequate perception of reality.

If a person has the feeling that he has suddenly become happy, then this is a very bad sign. Drowsiness will follow, and if you fall asleep, you won’t wake up.

The worst thing is that mountain sickness can be practically asymptomatic for a long time, and then the person suddenly loses consciousness. If you do nothing and don’t go down immediately, the person will die. The most destructive thing is hypoxia or lack of oxygen for the central nervous system.

Treatment with rarefied air

But there is an opinion that mountain air is very healthy. And this opinion is true; moreover, there is even orotherapy - treatment and restoration with rarefied air.

The principle of therapy is to place a person in a capsule with rarefied air in a certain concentration.

Orotherapy is effective in the following cases:

• allergic reactions of the body;
• diseases of the central nervous system;
• prevention of pregnancy pathologies;
• anemia;
• the need to stimulate regeneration.

The technique has been used in Russia since 1987. Such treatment should be carried out exclusively in a clinical setting and under the supervision of a physician. After all, both electric current and radioactive radiation in incorrect doses kill, but in accurately calculated doses they cure. A mountain air generator allows you to thin the air in clinical conditions.

May 29 marks exactly 66 years since the first ascent of the world’s highest mountain, Everest. After many attempts on different expeditions, in 1953, New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the world peak - 8848 meters above sea level.

To date, more than nine thousand people have conquered Everest, while more than 300 died during the ascent. Will a person turn around 150 meters before reaching the summit and go down if another climber becomes ill, and is it possible to climb Everest without oxygen - in our material.

Conquer the peak or save someone else's life

There are more and more people wishing to conquer the highest peak in the world every year. They are not afraid of the cost of climbing, measured in tens of thousands of dollars (the climb permit alone costs $11,000, plus the services of a guide, Sherpas, special clothing and equipment), nor the risk to health and life. At the same time, many go completely unprepared: they are attracted by the romance of the mountains and the blind desire to conquer the peak, but this is the most difficult test of survival. During the 2019 spring season, there are already 10 people on Everest. According to media reports, a total of 20 people died in the Himalayas this spring - this is more than in the entire 2018.

Of course, there is now a lot of commerce in extreme tourism, and climbers with many years of experience also note this. If previously you had to wait for years to climb Everest, now getting permission for the next season is not a problem. Nepal has sold 381 lift licenses this spring alone. Because of this, hours-long queues of tourists formed on the approaches to the top of the mountain, and this at altitudes critical for life. There are situations when oxygen runs out or there are not enough physical resources of the body to stay in such conditions, and people can no longer walk, someone dies. In cases where one of the group members becomes ill, the rest have a question: leave him and continue on the path to achieve the goal for which they have been preparing all their lives, or turn around and go downhill, saving the life of another person?

According to mountaineer Nikolai Totmyanin, who has made more than 200 ascents (of which five ascents to eight-thousanders and 53 ascents to seven-thousanders), in Russian groups on mountain expeditions it is not customary to leave a person who cannot go further. If someone feels bad and there are serious health risks, then the whole group turns around and goes down. This happened more than once in his practice: it happened that he had to turn around the entire expedition 150 meters before the goal (by the way, Nikolai himself climbed to the top of Everest twice without an oxygen cylinder).

There are situations when it is impossible to save a person. But just leaving him and continuing to move, knowing that he could die or spoil his health - this, according to our concepts, is nonsense and is simply unacceptable. Human life is more important than any mountain.

At the same time, Totmyanin notes that things are different on Everest, since commercial groups from different countries are gathered there: “Others, for example, the Japanese, do not have such principles. There, everyone is for himself and realizes the degree of responsibility that he can stay there forever ". Another important point: non-professional climbers have no sense of danger, they do not see it. And, being in an extreme situation, when there is little oxygen, the body is limited in any activity, including mental. “In such a situation, people make inadequate decisions, so it is impossible to entrust a person with the decision about whether to continue moving or not. This should be done by the leader of the group or expedition,” summarizes Totmyanin.

Oxygen starvation

What happens to a person at such a height? Let's imagine that we ourselves decided to conquer the peak. Due to the fact that we get used to high atmospheric pressure, living in a city almost on a plateau (for Moscow this is an average of 156 meters above sea level), when we get into mountainous areas our body experiences stress.

This is because the mountain climate is, first of all, low atmospheric pressure and thinner air than at sea level. Contrary to popular belief, the amount of oxygen in the air does not change with altitude; only its partial pressure (tension) decreases.

That is, when we breathe thin air, oxygen is not absorbed as well as at low altitudes. As a result, the amount of oxygen entering the body decreases - a person experiences oxygen starvation.

That’s why when we come to the mountains, often instead of the joy of clean air filling our lungs, we get headaches, nausea, shortness of breath and severe fatigue even during a short walk.

Oxygen starvation (hypoxia)– a state of oxygen starvation of both the entire organism as a whole and individual organs and tissues, caused by various factors: holding one’s breath, painful conditions, low oxygen content in the atmosphere.

And the higher and faster we rise, the more severe the health consequences can be. At high altitudes there is a risk of developing altitude sickness.

What are the heights:

• up to 1500 meters – low altitudes (even with hard work there are no physiological changes);
• 1500-2500 meters – intermediate (physiological changes are noticeable, blood oxygen saturation is less than 90 percent (normal), the likelihood of altitude sickness is low);
• 2500-3500 meters – high altitudes (altitude sickness develops with rapid ascent);
• 3500-5800 meters – very high altitudes (mountain sickness often develops, blood oxygen saturation is less than 90 percent, significant hypoxemia (decreased oxygen concentration in the blood during exercise);
• over 5800 meters – extreme altitudes (severe hypoxemia at rest, progressive deterioration, despite maximum acclimatization, constant stay at such altitudes is impossible).

Altitude sickness– a painful condition associated with oxygen starvation due to a decrease in the partial pressure of oxygen in the inhaled air. Occurs high in the mountains, starting at approximately 2000 meters and above.

Everest without oxygen

The highest peak in the world is the dream of many climbers. The awareness of the unconquered mass with a height of 8848 meters has excited minds since the beginning of the last century. However, for the first time people reached its summit only in the middle of the twentieth century - on May 29, 1953, the mountain finally conquered the New Zealander Edmund Hillary and the Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay.

In the summer of 1980, a person overcame another obstacle - the famous Italian climber Reinhold Massner climbed Everest without auxiliary oxygen in special cylinders, which are used on climbs.

Many professional climbers, as well as doctors, pay attention to the difference in the sensations of the two climbers - Norgay and Massner - when they reached the top.

According to the memoirs of Tenzing Norgay, “the sun was shining, and the sky - in my entire life I had never seen a bluer sky! I looked down and recognized places memorable from past expeditions... On all sides around us were the great Himalayas... Never before have I seen such a sight and never I won’t see anything more – wild, beautiful and terrible.”

And here are Messner’s memories of the same peak. “I sink into the snow, heavy as a stone from fatigue... But there is no rest here. I am exhausted and exhausted to the limit... Another half hour - and I’m finished... It’s time to leave. There is no feeling of the greatness of what is happening. I’m too tired for this.”

What caused such a significant difference in the descriptions of the two climbers’ triumphant ascent? The answer is simple - Reinhold Massner, unlike Norgay and Hillary, did not breathe oxygen.

Inhaling at the top of Everest will bring three times less oxygen to the brain than at sea level. This is why most climbers prefer to conquer peaks using oxygen cylinders.

On eight-thousanders (peaks above 8000 meters) there is a so-called death zone - a height at which, due to cold and lack of oxygen, a person cannot stay for a long time.

Many climbers note that doing the simplest things: tying boots, boiling water or getting dressed becomes extremely difficult.

Our brain suffers the most during oxygen starvation. It uses 10 times more oxygen than all other parts of the body combined. Above 7500 meters, a person receives so little oxygen that disruption of blood flow to the brain and brain swelling can occur.

Cerebral edema is a pathological process manifested by excessive accumulation of fluid in the cells of the brain or spinal cord and intercellular space, and an increase in brain volume.

At an altitude of more than 6,000 meters, the brain suffers so much that temporary bouts of insanity can occur. A slow reaction may give way to agitation and even inappropriate behavior.

For example, the most experienced American guide and climber Scott Fischer, most likely having suffered cerebral edema, at an altitude of more than 7000 meters, asked to call him a helicopter for evacuation. Although in normal conditions, any climber, even a not very experienced one, knows perfectly well that helicopters do not fly to such a height. This incident occurred during the infamous 1996 Everest climb, when eight climbers died during a storm on the descent.

This tragedy became widely known due to the large number of climbers who died. The ascent on May 11, 1996 killed 8 people, including two guides. On that day, several commercial expeditions simultaneously climbed to the summit. Participants in such expeditions pay money to guides, and they, in turn, provide maximum safety and everyday comfort to their clients along the route.

Most of the participants in the 1996 climb were not professional climbers and were heavily dependent on bottled auxiliary oxygen. According to various testimonies, 34 people simultaneously went out to storm the summit that day, which significantly delayed the ascent. As a result, the last climber reached the summit after 16:00. The critical ascent time is considered to be 13:00; after this time, guides are required to turn clients back in order to have time to descend while it is still light. 20 years ago, neither of the two guides gave such an order in time.

Due to the late ascent, many participants did not have oxygen left for the descent, during which a powerful hurricane hit the mountain. As a result, after midnight, many climbers were still on the mountainside. Without oxygen and poor visibility, they could not find their way to the camp. Some of them were rescued single-handedly by professional climber Anatoly Boukreev. Eight people died on the mountain due to hypothermia and lack of oxygen.

About mountain air and acclimatization

And yet our body can adapt to very difficult conditions, including high altitudes. In order to be at an altitude of more than 2500-3000 meters without serious consequences, an ordinary person needs from one to four days of acclimatization.

As for altitudes above 5000 meters, it is almost impossible to adapt to them normally, so you can only stay at them for a limited time. The body at such altitudes is not able to rest and recover.

Is it possible to reduce the health risk when staying at height and how to do it? As a rule, all health problems in the mountains begin due to insufficient or improper preparation of the body, namely lack of acclimatization.

Acclimatization is the sum of adaptive and compensatory reactions of the body, as a result of which good general condition is maintained, weight, normal performance and psychological state are maintained.

Many doctors and climbers believe that the best way to adapt to altitude is to gain altitude gradually - make several ascents, reaching higher and higher heights, and then descend and rest as low as possible.

Let's imagine a situation: a traveler who decides to conquer Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe, begins his journey from Moscow at 156 meters above sea level. And in four days it turns out to be 5642 meters.

And although adaptation to altitude is genetically embedded in us, such a careless climber faces several days of rapid heartbeat, insomnia and headaches. But for a climber who sets aside at least a week for the climb, these problems will be reduced to a minimum.

While a resident of the mountainous regions of Kabardino-Balkaria will not have them at all. Highlanders' blood naturally contains more erythrocytes (red blood cells), and their lung capacity is on average two liters larger.

How to protect yourself in the mountains when skiing or hiking

• Gradually gain altitude and avoid sudden changes in altitude;
• If you feel unwell, reduce the time of riding or walking, make more rest stops, drink warm tea;
• Due to high ultraviolet radiation, retinal burns can occur. To avoid this in the mountains you need to use sunglasses and a hat;
• Bananas, chocolate, muesli, cereals and nuts help fight oxygen starvation;
• You should not drink alcoholic drinks at altitude - they increase dehydration of the body and aggravate the lack of oxygen.

Another interesting and, at first glance, obvious fact is that in the mountains a person moves much slower than on the plain. In normal life, we walk at a speed of approximately 5 kilometers per hour. This means that we cover a distance of a kilometer in 12 minutes.

To climb to the top of Elbrus (5642 meters), starting from an altitude of 3800 meters, a healthy acclimatized person will need on average about 12 hours. That is, the speed will drop to 130 meters per hour compared to normal.

Comparing these figures, it is not difficult to understand how seriously altitude affects our body.

The tenth tourist died on Everest this spring

Why is it that the higher you go, the colder it gets?

Even those who have never been to the mountains know another feature of mountain air - the higher it is, the colder it is. Why does this happen, because closer to the sun the air, on the contrary, should warm up more.

The thing is that we feel heat not from the air, it heats up very poorly, but from the surface of the earth. That is, the sun's ray comes from above, through the air and does not heat it.

And the earth or water receives this ray, heats up quickly enough and gives off heat upward to the air. Therefore, the higher we are from the plain, the less heat we receive from the earth.

Inna Lobanova, Natalya Loskutnikova