If air pressure is gravity pulling air down why does it also push up and to the sides?
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Imagine diving into a pool: you’ve got plenty of water above you, but you don’t feel like you’re carrying all the water on top of you because you’re on top of more water yourself. Air pressure acts in all directions because, as a fluid, it tends to spread out in all directions to fill the shape of its container. In the case of the atmosphere, the container is the Earth’s surface. Just like it water, anything above the surface is going to be as pressed upon by the surrounding fluid from below as from above or any other direction.
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