Air is the result of the mixture of gases that make up the earth's atmosphere and that thanks to the force of gravity they are subject to planet earth. Air, as well as water, is a fundamental and essential element to ensure the continuity of life on the planet..
Air composition
Its composition is extremely delicate and the proportions of the substances that comprise it turn out to be variable: nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), water vapor (varies between 0 to 7%), ozone, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and noble gases such as krypton or argon (1%).
Depending on the altitude, temperature and composition of the air, the Earth's atmosphere is divided into four layers: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere. The higher we are, the less weight or pressure the air we breathe will have.
The most studied and analyzed layers, because they are the ones that absorb and are most affected by pollution, are the two that are closest to the earth: the troposphere and the stratosphere.
The air found in the troposphere is directly involved in the respiration process of living beings and is composed of 78% nitrogen, 20.94% oxygen, 0.035 carbon dioxide and 0.93 of inert gases including argon and neon. In addition, in this layer that covers 7 km in height at the poles and 16 km in the tropics are located clouds and water vapor, which is why it is the layer in which all the atmospheric phenomena that give rise to the climate occur. . And a little higher than this, approximately 25 km. We find the other, the stratosphere, which is where the ozone layer that protects the earth from ultraviolet radiation is located.
This is why any polluting substance found at this point will be absolutely harmful to man's health.
The physical properties that characterize the air we breathe are: volume, mass, density, atmospheric pressure, contraction and expansion.
Air, an essential issue for life
On the other hand and beyond these typical and specifically physical and geographical issues, air is the most flamboyant indicator of human and animal life, since the absence of it, the inability to breathe for a few long minutes or the direct and definitive interruption of this, will mean the death of a person. So in this matter the close relationship of air with life is more than evidenced ...
Air as an element
Together with earth, fire and water, air, integrates the group of four elements, which since ancient times were addressed to explain some issues related to nature. Religions, rites, western cosmogony, alchemy and astrology, among others, have addressed and address the element of air to explain phenomena.
It is considered to be an active element, masculine in nature and is symbolized by a triangle pointing upwards and entirely crossed by a horizontal line.
It should be noted that most of the cosmogony have highlighted the essentiality of air with respect to life and, for example, it has been indicated as the origin element of the rest of things.
Air in music
In music, the concept of air has a particular use since with it it is generically called that piece of music that consists of a single voice, the most common being songs considered popular or indigenous to a certain nation. For example, boleros and tiranas in Spain, or songs in Ireland and Scotland.
The air in riding
In the practice of horsemanship, the term air has an extended use since with it it is possible, on the one hand, to refer to a behavior, attitude of the horse, in the course of its various gaits (step, trot and gallop ) and also the cadence of the movements that are executed in them. And on the other hand, it is also applied in relation to the rider depending on their position in the saddle and the types of movements that they are deploying.
