/data/photo/2023/04/15/643a404d8d141.jpeg "Get to know the ionosphere, the layer of Earth’s atmosphere that reflects radio waves")
KOMPAS.com – The atmosphere is the layer of air that envelops the earth, made up of a mixture of various gases, such as nitrogen, oxygen, argon and small amounts of other gases.
The atmosphere serves to protect life on earth from incoming ultraviolet (UV) radiation and to prevent temperature extremes between day and night.
Reported from UCAR Science Education Centerthe atmosphere is made up of a mixture of several layers of gases that surround the earth.
The main gases in the Earth’s atmosphere are nitrogen and oxygen. Dry air is about 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen.
The less than 1% remaining in the atmosphere is a mixture of gases, including argon and carbon dioxide.
Read also : 5 layers of the atmosphere, the farthest can reach 10,000 km above the surface of the Earth
Earth’s atmosphere has five layers, namely troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere.
However, there are also other layers, such as the ozone layer which is part of the stratosphere and the ionosphere which extends from the mesosphere to the exosphere.
So what is the ionosphere?
Get to know the ionosphere
Melissa Weiss/Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian via GIZMODO
illustration of the ionosphere, the layer of the atmosphere that reflects radio waves.
Reported from National geographicthe ionosphere extends from the top of the mesosphere to the exosphere, and this layer of the atmosphere can conduct electricity.
The ionosphere is the name for the ions created by the active particles of sunlight and space.
Ions are atoms whose number of electrons is not the same as the number of protons.
Thus the atom will be charged positively (fewer electrons than protons) or negative (more electrons than protons).
Read also : What is the difference between the atmosphere and the ozone layer? See the following explanation
The ionosphere reflects radio waves
The ionosphere, which is a layer of free electrons and ions, can reflect radio waves.
Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian engineer dubbed the “father of wireless,” helped prove it in 1901.
Marconi, he sent a radio signal from Cornwall, England to St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada.
Marconi’s experiments showed that radio signals do not travel in a straight line, but rather reflect off a layer of the atmosphere, namely the ionosphere.
The ionosphere is divided into four distinct layers, called the D, E, F1 and F2 layers.
Read also : Get to know the stratosphere, the layer of Earth’s atmosphere that prevents ultraviolet radiation
Ionosphere function
Dock. BBC.COM
The sky above England is decorated with auroras coming from the south.
Like the rest of the atmosphere, these layers will vary with season and latitude. Although in fact changes in the ionosphere occur every day.
The low D layer absorbs high frequency radio waves. Then the E layer disappears completely overnight, allowing radio waves to reach higher into the ionosphere.
This is why AM radio stations can extend their range by hundreds of miles each night.
The ionosphere also has the function of reflecting solar wind particles, namely the streams of highly charged electrical particles emitted by the sun.
This electric display creates the aurora known as the Northern Lights or Southern Lights.
Read also : Know the content and functions of the atmosphere, what are they?
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Earth’s atmosphere is divided into several layers
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