Dewpoint, is the temperature at which the air can hold no more moisture.

When the
temperature of the air is reduced to the dewpoint, the air is completely saturated and
moisture begins to condense out of the air in the form of fog, dew, frost, clouds, rain,
hail, or snow. As moist, unstable air rises, clouds often form at the altitude where
temperature and dewpoint reach the same value.

Atmospheric properties
The atmosphere has many properties. Static pressure, Air density, Temperature,
Humidity, Viscosity and Sound

a. Static Pressure Pressure of the atmosphere decreases with height.

The unit of pressure that will be used on all weather maps we will study is the milllibar,
abbreviated as mb. The average surface pressure on the Earth is 1013.25 mb which
means a pressure of about 1 kilogram per square centimeter. A low pressure system
where the pressure is 20 or 30 mb less than surrounding regions would represent a
major storm system indeed.

b. Air Density : A known density occurs for any one temperature and pressure
altitude. The density of the air, has a pronounced effect on airplane and engine
performance. Regardless of the actual altitude at which the airplane is operating, it will
perform as though it were operating at an altitude equal to the existing density altitude.
Density of the air is the most important property of the air in the study of aerodynamics.
It is defined as the mass of the air per unit volume. The symbol for density is ρ (rho).
ρ=mass unit volume
Density is directly proportional to pressure and inversely proportional to absolute
temperature, as shown by the universal gas law:
σ = P / RT
c. Temperature measures the random speed at which molecules move; a higher
temperature means that molecules are moving more rapidly in their random motion, a
lower temperature means they are moving more slowly.
Latitude and altitude are two primary factors known to affect variations in temperature
on the earth surface because of unequal heating of the earth’s atmosphere. For every
100-feet rise in altitude, temperature decreases by about 2 degree Celsius.

Latitude : While lines of latitude run across a map east-west, the point of latitude
makes the n0rth-south position of a point on earth. Lines of latitude start at 0
degrees at the equator and end a 90 degrees at the North and South Poles.
 Lines of latitude are called parallels and in total there are 180 degrees of latitude. The
distance between each degree of latitude is about 69 miles (110 kilometers). The five
major parallels of latitudes from north to south are called: Arctic Circle, Tropic of
Cancer, Equator, Tropic of Capricorn, and the Antarctic Circle. On a maps where the
orientation of the map is either due north or due south, latitude appears as horizontal
lines.
Longitude : Longitude lines run north-south and mark the position east-west of a
point. Lines of longitude are known as meridians. These lines run from pole to
pole, crossing the equator at right angles. There are 360 degrees of longitude and
the longitude line of 0 degrees is known as the Prime Meridian and it divides the
world into the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere (-180 degrees
degrees of longitude west and 180 degrees of longitude east).

The distance between longitudes narrows the further away from the equator. The
distance between longitudes at the equator is the same as latitude, roughly 69 miles. At
45 degrees north or south, the distance between is about 49 miles (79 km). The
distance between longitudes reaches zero at the poles as the lines of meridian
converge at that point.

To provide a geographic location using latitude and longitude, a pair of numbers known
as coordinates are used. Coordinates are composed of degrees, minutes, and
seconds (DMS). When providing coordinates, Latitude is always written first. To provide
the location of the United States Capitol building using latitude and longitude would be:
38° 53′ 35″ N, 77° 00′ 32″ W.

The rate at which atmospheric temperature decreases with an increase in altitude is

called the temperature lapse rate.

STP - Standard Temperature and Pressure

STP is commonly used to define standard conditions for temperature and pressure
which is important for the measurements and documentation of chemical and physical
processes:

1. STP - Standard Temperature and Pressure - is defined by IUPAC (International Union

of Pure and Applied Chemistry) as air at 0 oC (273.15 K, 32 oF) and 105 pascals (1 bar).

d. Relative Humidity : Humidity is a general measure for the amount of water

vapor in the atmosphere; the more water vapor, the higher the humidity. We are
comparing how much water vapor is present in the atmosphere to how much water
vapor it would take to saturate the atmosphere.
 Relative humidity can then be expressed as:
Relative Humidity = [(Actual Vapor in Air)/(Saturation Vapor of the Air)]x 100%

A higher value of RH means that the atmosphere is nearing saturation, a lower value
means the atmosphere is far from saturation. A RH of 100% means that the amount of
vapor in the atmosphere equals the amount of vapor required to saturate the
atmosphere. (In almost all cases) when the RH reaches 100%, water droplets begin to
condense from the vapor, and this initiates the process of cloud formation.

Units of Air Temperature are

Fahrenheit (ºF), Celsius (ºC) κC = (ºF-32)/1.8, Kelvin (K): a SI unit ÎK= ºC+273
1K1ºC>1ºF
e. Viscosity : The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of its resistance to gradual

deformation by shear stress or tensile stress. For liquids, it corresponds to the informal
concept of "thickness". For example, honey has a much higher viscosity than water.

Under standard atmospheric conditions (25 °C and pressure of 1 bar), the dynamic
viscosity of air is 18.5 μPa·s, roughly 50 times smaller than the viscosity of water at the
same temperature. Except at very high pressure, the viscosity of air depends mostly on
the temperature.

The sea level standard value of air viscosity mu is mu = 1.73 x 10^-5 Newton-
second/square meters = 3.62 x 10^-7 pound-second/square feet The density (specific
volume), pressure, and temperature of a gas are related to each other through the
equation of state. Dynamic viscosity is the quantitative expression of fluid’s
resistance to flow, while Kinematic viscosity is the ratio of the fluid’s viscous force
to the inertial force. Kinematic viscosity is sometimes called the diffusivity of
momentum, due to the fact that it has the same unit when compared to the diffusivity of
mass and diffusivity of heat. Therefore, it is used in dimensionless numbers, which
compares the ratio of the diffusivities.

f. Sound : The speed of sound is a term used to describe the speed of sound
waves passing through an elastic medium. The speed of sound is affected by
temperature and humidity. Because it is less dense, sound passes through hot air faster
than it passes through cold air. The speed of sound is the distance travelled per unit
time by a sound wave as it propagates through an elastic medium. At 20 °C (68 °F), the
speed of sound in air is about 343 metres per second (1,235 km/h; 1,125 ft/s;
767 mph; 667 kn), or a kilometre in 2.9 s or a mile in 4.7 s.

ICAO Standard Atmosphere

Standard model of the atmosphere adopted by the International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO):

 Atmospheric pressure: 760 mmHg = 14.7 lbs-force/sq inch

 Temperature: 15oC = 288.15 K = 59oF
Note: Pay attention to the units for viscosity. Example: 1.6478×10 -5kg/m.s =
0.000016478 kg/m.s

Specific
Dynamic Kinemati Thermal Prandtl
Temperatur Densit Heat
Viscosit c Conductivit Numbe
e y Capacit
y Viscosity y r
(T) (ρ) y
(μ) (v) (k) (Pr)
(cp)

x10-5 x103
◦c kg/m3 x10-5 m2/s W/m.K –
kg/m.s J/kg.K

-20 1.3958 1.6222 1.1622 1.0054 0.022507 0.72467

-15 1.3687 1.6478 1.2039 1.0054 0.022903 0.72337

-10 1.3426 1.6731 1.2462 1.0055 0.023296 0.72212

-5 1.3175 1.6982 1.2890 1.0055 0.023686 0.72092

0 1.2933 1.7231 1.3324 1.0056 0.024073 0.71977

5 1.2699 1.7478 1.3763 1.0057 0.024458 0.71866

10 1.2474 1.7722 1.4207 1.0058 0.024840 0.71759

The Prandtl number (Pr) is a nondimensional intensive property of a fluid, representing

the ratio of molecular momentum and thermal diffusivities, thus influencing the coupling
between velocity and temperature profiles.

Energy Transfer
In the physical sciences, an energy transfer or 'energy exchange' from one system to
another is said to occur when an amount of energy crosses the boundary between
them, thus increasing the energy content of one system while decreasing the energy
content of the other system by the same amount. The transfer is characterised by the
quantity of energy transferred, which can be specified in energy units such as the joule,
in combination with the direction of the transfer, which can be specified as in or out of
one system or the other. Thermodynamics recognises three categories of such
transfers: Heat[ing], which can occur via conduction, thermal electromagnetic radiation,
and other mechanisms Work,

Units of Atmospheric Pressure Units of Atmospheric Pressure •Pascal (Pa):a SI

(Systeme Internationale) unit for air pressure. 1 Pa = a force of 1 newton acting on a
surface of one square meter. 1 hectopascal (hPa) = 1 millibar (mb) [hecto = one
hundred =100]

Conventional aircraft altimeters work by measuring the atmospheric pressure at

the airplane's flight altitude and comparing it to a preset pressure value. ... These aneroid
wafers are calibrated to sea level pressure of 29.92" mercury inside.

How an Altimeter Works

Conventional aircraft altimeters work by measuring the atmospheric pressure at

the airplane's flight altitude and comparing it to a preset pressure value. Air
pressure decreases by about one-inch mercury for each 1,000-foot altitude
increase.
Inside the instrument, the casing is a set of three aneroid wafers that are sealed
but still able to expand and contract. These aneroid wafers are calibrated to sea
level pressure of 29.92" mercury inside. An outside static pressure lower than
29.92" Hg (as experienced with a gain in altitude) causes the wafers to expand
since the pressure inside of the sealed wafers is greater than on the outside. A
higher static pressure causes the wafers to compress. When the static pressure
increases or decreases, mechanical connections trigger the altimeter needle to
show a corresponding altitude in feet.

The appearance of altimeters varies, but a common one is known as a three-

point altimeter. This type of altimeter has a background similar to a clock with
numbers from zero to 9 and three needles on the face. One is a short, wide
needle that shows height in 10,000-foot increments, one is a slightly longer and
wider needle that depicts height in 1,000-foot increments, and the longest needle
shows height in 100-foot increments. Older altimeters have only one needle that
circles once around the dial for every 1,000 feet in altitude.