Earth–ionosphere waveguide Earth–ionosphere waveguide The Earth–ionosphere waveguide refers to the phenomenon in which certain radio waves can propagate in the space between the ground and the boundary of the ionosphere. Because the ionosphere contains charged particles, it can behave as a conductor. The earth operates as a ground plane, and the resulting cavity behaves as a large waveguide. Extremely low frequency (ELF) (< 3 kHz) and very low frequency (VLF) (3–30 kHz) signals can propagate efficiently in this waveguide. For instance, lightning strikes launch a signal called radio atmospherics, which can travel many thousands of miles, because they are confined between the
Atmospheric pressure Atmospheric pressure Atmospheric pressure, sometimes also called barometric pressure (after the sensor), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth (or that of another planet). The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , equivalent to 760mmHg (torr), 29.92inchesHg, or 14.696psi. The atm unit is roughly equivalent to the mean sea-level atmospheric pressure on Earth. In most circumstances atmospheric pressure is closely approximated by the hydrostatic pressure caused by the weight of air above the measurement point. As elevation increases, there is less overlying atmospheric mass, so that atmospheric pressure decreases with increasing elevation. Pressure measures