I understand why it’s so hot, but I can’t wrap my head around its atmospheric density. 90x the pressure on earth. it’s roughly the same size, and in the same general neighborhood. what causes the crushing pressure?
In: Physics
As you go down the periodic table, each atom is heavier than the last. So oxygen is heavier than helium, and so on. The molecules that are made of these lighter atoms tend to be gas, while molecules made of heavier atoms tend to be liquid or solid.
But as temperature increases, things that were solid begin to melt, and things that were liquid evaporate into gas. So with the intense heat under Venus’ greenhouse, the air is made of molecules that contain heavier elements. While earth’s atmosphere is mostly nitrogen atoms with carbon molecules, Venus’ atmosphere is mostly oxygen atoms with sulfur molecules.
Since air pressure on you is the mass of the conical column of air between you and the edge of the atmosphere, changing the average mass of the molecules that make up that multi-mile high column has a drastic effect on the air pressure you experience.
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