So basically my question is if you were to build a pipe from sea level to outer space would it suck all the air out to space?
In: Physics
If it were kept a vaccum then opened it would suck in as much as needed to fill the pipe. But gravity would still apply and therefore the air in the pipe would be of similar density to the air outside at a given height. It wouldnt drain off all our air.
The weight of all the air in the pipe would be the same pressure as the air outside the pipe, so nothing special would happen.
You could put a pump or a heat source in it to force air up, but it would have to be extremely powerful to have any effect and we just don’t have anything that powerful.
No. The air density in the pipe would be the same as the atmosphere: dense at the bottom, rarefied at the top. I mean, there’s no barrier separating the atmosphere from space as it is, yet the atmosphere is not sucked away. Why would it be different in a pipe?
[We’re already losing air to space.](https://phys.org/news/2016-07-curious-case-earth-leaking-atmosphere.html) I don’t think adding a pipe would have any appreciable effect on the process.
The earth is not a bubble with a barrier stopping air escape. So piercing the bubble with a pipe won’t allow air to escape as you’ve described. ELI5: consider placing objects on your bedding, any smaller objects (I.e. air) is pulled closer to heavier objects (I.e. earth) through gravity. The gravity holds the air close to the planet and a pipe won’t change that as the gravity would be the same inside and outside the pipe.
Latest Answers