Eli5: How come we don’t feel the millions of pounds of air coming down above us? And why aren’t we so much stronger without it?

Question

Eli5: How come we don’t feel the millions of pounds of air coming down above us? And why aren’t we so much stronger without it?

In: 0

Answer 1

1. There aren’t millions of pounds of air coming down on you. Directly above you is only about 1,000 pounds of air.
2. Air is a gas and therefore doesn’t apply it’s pressure down on you, but in all directions, flowing all around you.
3. Whatever part of it that *is* pushing down on you is a constant, and you normalize it.