1. The soaking up of radiation by the air and moisture in the mixture of gases surrounding the Earth's surface: In Howard's physics class, two of the students invented a gauge to measure atmospheric absorption.
2. The reduction of the energy of microwaves by the presence of moisture in the gases surrounding the Earth: The static in the skies at night in the local area appeared to cause the atmospheric absorption of the microwaves, which were interfering with the radar system.