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ration and buoyancy； since it requires a little less exertion to move our bodies in thedenser medium。” the reason you don’t feel crushed under that extra half ton of pressure is thesame reason your body would not be crushed deep beneath the sea： it is made mostly ofinpressible fluids； which push back； equalizing the pressures within and without。
but get air in motion； as with a hurricane or even a stiff breeze； and you will quickly bereminded that it has very considerable mass。 altogether there are about 5；200 million milliontons of air around us—25 million tons for every square mile of the planet—a notinconsequential volume。 when you get millions of tons of atmosphere rushing past at thirty orforty miles an hour； it’s hardly a surprise that limbs snap and roof tiles go flying。 as anthonysmith notes； a typical weather front may consist of 750 million tons of cold air pinnedbeneath a billion tons of warmer air。 hardly a wonder that the result is at timesmeteorologically exciting。
certainly there is no shortage of energy in the world above our heads。 one thunderstorm； ithas been calculated； can contain an amount of energy equivalent to four days’ use ofelectricity for the whole united states。 in the right conditions； storm clouds can rise to heightsof six to ten miles and contain updrafts and downdrafts of one hundred miles an hour。 theseare often side by side； which is why pilots don’t want to fly through them。 in all； the internalturmoil particles within the cloud pick up electrical charges。 for reasons not entirelyunderstood the lighter particles tend to bee positively charged and to be wafted by aircurrents to the top of the cloud。 the heavier particles linger at the base； accumulating negativecharges。 these negatively charged particles have a powerful urge to rush to the positivelycharged earth； and good luck to anything that gets in their way。 a bolt of lightning travels at270；000 miles an hour and can heat the air around it to a decidedly crisp 50；000 degreesfahrenheit； several times hotter than the surface of the sun。 at any one moment 1；800thunderstorms are in progress around the globe—some 40；000 a day。 day and night across theplanet every second about a hundred lightning bolts hit the ground。 the sky is a lively place。
much of our knowledge of what goes on up there is surprisingly recent。 jet streams； usuallylocated about 30；000 to 35；000 feet up； can bowl along at up to 180 miles an hour and vastlyinfluence weather systems over whole continents； yet their existence wasn’t suspected untilpilots began to fly into them during the second world war。 even now a great deal ofatmospheric phenomena is barely understood。 a form of wave motion popularly known asclear…air turbulence occasionally enlivens airplane flights。 about twenty such incidents a yearare serious enough to need reporting。 they are not associated with cloud structures oranything else that can be detected visually or by radar。 they are just pockets of startlingturbulence in the middle of tranquil skies。 in a typical incident； a plane en route fromsingapore to sydney was flying over central australia in calm conditions when it suddenlyfell three hundred feet—enough to fling unsecured people against the ceiling。 twelve peoplewere injured； one seriously。 no one knows what causes such disruptive cells of air。
the process that moves air around in the atmosphere is the same process that drives theinternal engine of the planet； namely convection。 moist； warm air from the equatorial regionsrises until it hits the barrier of the tropopause and spreads out。 as it travels away from theequator and cools； it sinks。 when it hits bottom； some of the sinking air looks for an area oflow pressure to fill and heads back for the equator； pleting the circuit。
at the equator the convection process is generally stable and the weather predictably fair；but in temperate zones the patterns are far more seasonal； localized； and random； whichresults in an endless battle between systems of high…pressure air and low。 low…pressuresystems are created by rising air； which conveys water molecules into the sky； forming cloudsand eventually rain。 warm air can hold more moisture than cool air； which is why tropical andsummer storms tend to be the heaviest。 thus low areas tend to be associated with clouds andrain； and highs generally spell sunshine and fair weather。 when two such systems meet； itoften bees manifest in the clouds。 for instance； stratus clouds—those unlovable；featureless sprawls that give us our overcast skies—happen when moisture…bearing updraftslack the oomph to break through a level of more stable air above； and instead spread out； likesmoke hitting a ceiling。 indeed； if you watch a smoker sometime； you can get a very goodidea of how things work by watching how smoke rises from a cigarette in a still room。 atfirst； it goes straight up （this is called a laminar flow； if you need to impress anyone）； and thenit spreads out in a diffused； wavy layer。 the greatest superputer in the world； takingmeasurements in the most carefully controlled environment； cannot tell you what forms theseripplings will take； so you can imagine the difficulties that confront meteorologists when theytry to predict such motions in a spinning； windy； large…scale world。
what we do know is that because heat from the sun is unevenly distributed； differences inair pressure arise on the planet。 air can’t abide this； so it rushes around trying to equalizethings everywhere。 wind is simply the air’s way of trying to keep things in balance。 airalways flows from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure （as you would expect； thinkof anything with air under pressure—a balloon or an air tank—and think how insistently thatpressured air wants to get someplace else）； and the greater the discrepancy in pressures thefaster the wind blows。
incidentally； wind speeds； like most things that accumulate； grow exponentially； so a windblowing at two hundred miles an hour is not simply ten times stronger than a wind blowing attwenty miles an hour； but a hundred times stronger—and hence that much more destructive。
introduce several million tons of air to this accelerator effect and the result can be exceedingly energetic。 a tropical hurricane can release in twenty…four hours as much energy as a rich；medium…sized nation like britain or france uses in a year。
the impulse of the atmosphere to seek equilibrium was first suspected by edmondhalley—the man who was everywhere—and elaborated upon in the eighteenth century by hisfellow briton george hadley； who saw that rising and falling columns of air tended toproduce “cells” （known ever since as “hadley cells”）。 though a lawyer by profession； hadleyhad a keen interest in the weather （he was； after all； english） and also suggested a linkbetween his cells； the earth’s spin； and the apparent deflections of air that give us our tradewinds。 however； it was an engineering professor at the école polytechnique in paris；gustave…gaspard de coriolis； who worked out the details of these interactions in 1835； andthus we call it the coriolis effect。 （coriolis’s other distinction at the school was to introducewatercoolers； which are still known there as corios； apparently。） the earth revolves at a brisk1；041 miles an hour at the equator； though as you move toward the poles the rate slopes offconsiderably； to about 600 miles an hour in london or paris； for instance。 the reason for thisis self…evident when you think about it。 if you are on the equator the spinning earth has tocarry you quite a distance—about 40；000 kilometers—to get you back to the same spot。 if youstand beside the north pole； however； you may need travel only a few feet to plete arevolution； yet in both cases it takes twenty…four hours to get you back to where you began。
therefore； it follows that the closer you get to the equator the faster you must be spinning。
the coriolis effect explains why anything moving through the air in a straight line laterallyto the earth’s spin will； given enough distance； seem to curve to the right in the northernhemisphere and to the left in the southern as the earth revolves beneath it。 the standard wayto envision this is to imagine yourself at the ce