sphero-, spher-, -sphere-

Haziness in the atmosphere due to aerosols, such as dust: When atmospheric turbidity is zero, the sky has no dust, as measured by a sun photometer, an instrument that measures luminous intensity or brightness, luminous flux, light distribution, color, etc.

Random fluctuations of the atmosphere often causing major deformations of its fluid flow: Atmospheric turbulence involves the mixing of warm and cold air in the atmosphere by wind, which causes clear-air turbulence that is experienced during airplane flight, as well as poor astronomical vision or the blurring of images seen through the atmosphere.

A range of wavelengths in which the atmosphere is partly or largely transparent: An atmospheric window is a wavelength band in the electromagnetic spectrum that is able to pass through the Earth's atmosphere with relatively little attenuation through absorption, scattering, or reflection.

An atmospheric window takes place in the observable infrared and radio areas of the spectrum.

1. The noises in a radio receiver or randomly distributed white spots or bands on the screen of a television receiver: Atmospherics are caused by interferences from natural electromagnetic disturbances in the atmosphere and the study of such phenomena.
2. The moods or atmospheres; the ambiances: Fortunately, the atmospherics of the conference were friendlier than we had anticipated.
3. Unusual conditions in the atmosphere: Atmospherics are those caused by lightning, or the continuous short, sharp noises produced by a radio during these conditions.

Electromagnetic radiation produced by natural phenomenam such as lightning: Atmospherics are disturbances of electrical origin causing interference with communication in wireless telegraphy, television, etc.

Sferics are atmospheric conditions caused by electromagnetic upheavals, especially as they affect radio transmission

An optical system used to simulate images of atmospheric phenomena: An atmospherium, for example, projects cloud formations and storms on the inside of a dome.

An atmospherium is also the term for the building in which this projection system is used.

The oxygenation of venous blood: Atmospherization can also be described as the transformation or conversion of of venous blood into arterial blood.

The scientific investigation or treatise of the atmosphere: Atmospherology is the systematic study of the phenomena of the atmosphere of a planet, a satellite, or of the sun.

More specifically, atmospherology is the examination or research of the Earth's atmospher, as in meteorology.

That part of the biosphere in which energy is fixed by photosynthesis in green plants.

1. The internal substance of the earth enclosed by the lithosphere.
2. The central core of the earth.

A round watertight diving chamber with observation windows: A bathysphere was usually lowered by cables from a ship and it was formerly used to study deep-sea life.

The bathysphere is also described as a circular tethered metal compartment with an inside diameter of less than three feet in which the deep-sea pioneers cramped themselves for several hours during each immersion.

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A device or instrument for recording the temperature against the depth (pressure) in the ocean from a ship that is underway or in motion: A bathythermosphere, or BT, was used by senior students for scientific purposes for the university, and especially to find out the distribution of water temperature in relation to th deepness of the ocean.

In ecology, that part of the lithosphere within which living organisms can exist: The biogeosphere is the region of the earth that reaches from the surface of the top crust down to the maximum depth in which organisms can live.

1. All of the regions of the earth’s crust, waters, and atmosphere that are occupied by living organisms; occasionally, the living organisms themselves.
2. The realm or sphere or life in which the total biological process takes place.

The earth's surface and the top layer of the hydrosphere (water layer) have the greatest density of living organisms.

The geosphere, or nonliving world, is made up of the lithosphere (solid earth or stone), hydrosphere, and atmosphere.

3. In Arizona, USA, an enclosed, supposedly self-contained experimental eco-system designed to provide environmental insights.

The initial two-year test, started in 1991, was called "Biosphere 1"; the second one was called "Biosphere 2", and was started in 1994.

The zone at and near the earth's surface in which all living things are located:

Also see "The Development and Explanations of Life and Its Characteristics for additional information related to this subject.