avored their wine with lead； which may be part of the reasonthey are not the force they used to be。 as we have seen elsewhere； our own performance withlead （not to mention mercury； cadmium； and all the other industrial pollutants with which weroutinely dose ourselves） does not leave us a great deal of room for smirking。 when elementsdon’t occur naturally on earth； we have evolved no tolerance for them； and so they tend to beextremely toxic to us； as with plutonium。 our tolerance for plutonium is zero： there is no levelat which it is not going to make you want to lie down。
i have brought you a long way to make a small point： a big part of the reason that earthseems so miraculously acmodating is that we evolved to suit its conditions。 what wemarvel at is not that it is suitable to life but that it is suitable to our life—and hardlysurprising； really。 it may be that many of the things that make it so splendid to us—well…proportioned sun； doting moon； sociable carbon； more magma than you can shake a stick at；and all the rest—seem splendid simply because they are what we were born to count on。 noone can altogether say。
other worlds may harbor beings thankful for their silvery lakes of mercury and driftingclouds of ammonia。 they may be delighted that their planet doesn’t shake them silly with itsgrinding plates or spew messy gobs of lava over the landscape； but rather exists in apermanent nontectonic tranquility。 any visitors to earth from afar would almost certainly； atthe very least； be bemused to find us living in an atmosphere posed of nitrogen； a gassulkily disinclined to react with anything； and oxygen； which is so partial to bustion thatwe must place fire stations throughout our cities to protect ourselves from its livelier effects。
but even if our visitors were oxygen…breathing bipeds with shopping malls and a fondness for3oxygen itself is not bustible； it merely facilitates the bus tion of other things。 this is just as well； for ifoxygen were corn bustible； each time you lit a match all the air around you would bur into flame。 hydrogen gas；on the other hand； is extremely corn bustible； as the dirigible hindenburg demonstrated on may 6； 193 inlakehurst； new jersey； when its hydrogen fuel burst explosive） into flame； killing thirty…six people。
action movies； it is unlikely that they would find earth ideal。 we couldn’t even give themlunch because all our foods contain traces of manganese； selenium； zinc； and other elementalparticles at least some of which would be poisonous to them。 to them earth might not seem awondrously congenial place at all。
the physicist richard feynman used to make a joke about a posteriori conclusions； as theyare called。 “you know； the most amazing thing happened to me tonight；” he would say。 “isaw a car with the license plate arw 357。 can you imagine？ of all the millions of licenseplates in the state； what was the chance that i would see that particular one tonight？
amazing！” his point； of course； was that it is easy to make any banal situation seemextraordinary if you treat it as fateful。
so it is possible that the events and conditions that led to the rise of life on earth are notquite as extraordinary as we like to think。 still； they were extraordinary enough； and one thingis certain： they will have to do until we find some better。
/d/
17 INTO THE TROPOSPHERE
thank goodness for the atmosphere。 it keeps us warm。 without it； earth would be alifeless ball of ice with an average temperature of minus 60 degrees fahrenheit。 in addition；the atmosphere absorbs or deflects ining swarms of cosmic rays； charged particles；ultraviolet rays； and the like。 altogether； the gaseous padding of the atmosphere is equivalentto a fifteen…foot thickness of protective concrete； and without it these invisible visitors fromspace would slice through us like tiny daggers。 even raindrops would pound us senseless if itweren’t for the atmosphere’s slowing drag。
the most striking thing about our atmosphere is that there isn’t very much of it。 it extendsupward for about 120 miles； which might seem reasonably bounteous when viewed fromground level； but if you shrank the earth to the size of a standard desktop globe it would onlybe about the thickness of a couple of coats of varnish。
for scientific convenience； the atmosphere is divided into four unequal layers： troposphere；stratosphere； mesosphere； and ionosphere （now often called the thermosphere）。 thetroposphere is the part that’s dear to us。 it alone contains enough warmth and oxygen to allowus to function； though even it swiftly bees uncongenial to life as you climb up through it。
from ground level to its highest point； the troposphere （or “turning sphere”） is about ten milesthick at the equator and no more than six or seven miles high in the temperate latitudes wheremost of us live。 eighty percent of the atmosphere’s mass； virtually all the water； and thusvirtually all the weather are contained within this thin and wispy layer。 there really isn’tmuch between you and oblivion。
beyond the troposphere is the stratosphere。 when you see the top of a storm cloudflattening out into the classic anvil shape； you are looking at the boundary between thetroposphere and stratosphere。 this invisible ceiling is known as the tropopause and wasdiscovered in 1902 by a frenchman in a balloon； léon…philippe teisserenc de bort。 pause inthis sense doesn’t mean to stop momentarily but to cease altogether； it’s from the same greekroot as menopause。 even at its greatest extent； the tropopause is not very distant。 a fastelevator of the sort used in modern skyscrapers could get you there in about twenty minutes；though you would be well advised not to make the trip。 such a rapid ascent withoutpressurization would； at the very least； result in severe cerebral and pulmonary edemas； adangerous excess of fluids in the body’s tissues。 when the doors opened at the viewingplatform； anyone inside would almost certainly be dead or dying。 even a more measuredascent would be acpanied by a great deal of disfort。 the temperature six miles up canbe …70 degrees fahrenheit； and you would need； or at least very much appreciate；supplementary oxygen。
after you have left the troposphere the temperature soon warms up again； to about 40degrees fahrenheit； thanks to the absorptive effects of ozone （something else de bortdiscovered on his daring 1902 ascent）。 it then plunges to as low as …130 degrees fahrenheit inthe mesosphere before skyrocketing to 2；700 degrees fahrenheit or more in the aptly namedbut very erratic thermosphere； where temperatures can vary by a thousand degrees from day to night—though it must be said that “temperature” at such a height bees a somewhatnotional concept。 temperature is really just a measure of the activity of molecules。 at sealevel； air molecules are so thick that one molecule can move only the tiniest distance—aboutthree…millionths of an inch； to be precise—before banging into another。 because trillions ofmolecules are constantly colliding； a lot of heat gets exchanged。 but at the height of thethermosphere； at fifty miles or more； the air is so thin that any two molecules will be milesapart and hardly ever e in contact。 so although each molecule is very warm； there are fewinteractions between them and thus little heat transference。 this is good news for satellitesand spaceships because if the exchange of heat were more efficient any man…made objectorbiting at that level would burst into flame。
even so； spaceships have to take care in the outer atmosphere； particularly on return trips toearth； as the space shuttle columbia demonstrated all too tragically in february 2003。
although the atmosphere is very thin； if a craft es in at too steep an angle—more thanabout 6 degrees—or too swiftly it can strike enough molecules to generate drag of anexceedingly bustible nature。 conversely； if an ining vehicle hit the thermosphere attoo shallow an angle； it could well bounce back into space； like a pebble skipped across water。
but you needn’t venture to the edge of the atmosphere to be reminded of what hopelesslyground…hugging beings we are。 as anyone who has spent time in a lofty city will know； youdon’t have to rise too many thousands of feet from sea level before your body begins toprotest。 even experienced mountaineers； with the benefits of fitness； training； and bottledoxygen； quickly bee vulnerable at height to confusion； nausea； exhaustion； frostbite；hypothermia； migraine； loss of appetite； and a great many other stumbling dysfunctions。 in ahundred emphatic ways the human body reminds its owner that it wasn’t designed to operateso far above sea level。
“even under the most favorable circumstances；” the climber peter habeler has written ofconditions atop everest； “every step at that altitude demands a colossal effort of will。 youmust force yourself to make every movement； reach for every handhold。 you are perpetuallythreatened by a leaden； deadly fatigue。” in the other side of everest； the british mountaineerand filmmaker matt dickinson records how howard somervell； on a 1924 british expeditionup everest； “found himself choking to death after a piece of infected flesh came loose andblocked his windpipe。” with a