1910–1911
Britannica 11th
Encyclopaedia Britannica · 11th edition
ATMOSPHERE (Gr. arfik, vapour; <7<£cupa, a sphere), the aeriform envelope encircling the earth; also the envelope of a particular gas or gases about any solid or liquid. Meteorological phenomena seated more directly in the atmosphere obtained early recognition; thus Hesiod, in his Works and Days, speculated on the origin of winds, ascribing them to the heating effects of the sun on the air. Ctesibius of Alexandria, Hero and others, founded the science of pneumatics on observations on the physical properties of air.…
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- Vol. 2, pp. 860-860