Air | When Did It Appear?

Air is probably the most misunderstood but important gas of all of the substances.  We need it to breath, it keeps us warm and/or cold.  Animals and organisms use it as a home.  It protects us from Ultra Violet Radiation…

Air is probably the most misunderstood but important gas of all of the substances.  We need it to breath, it keeps us warm and/or cold.  Animals and organisms use it as a home.  It protects us from Ultra Violet Radiation from the Sun.  And many other reasons.  You may ask…

Last Update: November 8 2021

Air’s First Appearance?

Air is not the same thing as Oxygen. Air first appeared on the Earth 4.6 billion years ago during the first of the four great Eons called the Hadean Eon. It was named after the Greek God Hades as it marks a time period where life on Earth was fiery, hazardous unpredictable and a place where there were an abundance of short-lived radioactive elements, with frequent collisions with other Solar System bodies. A place or state of developing spirits.

When Earth was formed it was a hot mixture of gases, liquids, and solids. It had little atmosphere. Our Earth’s atmosphere currently is a thin layer of gases that are mostly composed of oxygen and nitrogen with a small amount of argon, Carboned dioxide (CO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO) hydrogen, ozone(O3), methane, helium, neon, krypton (for Superman lol) and xenon. But 4.6 billion years ago it consisted of hydrogen sulfide (H2S), Carbon dioxide and methane (CH4). It is thought that the surface was molten, but as volcanoes erupted and the Earth’s surface cooled, water started to form and collect, the atmosphere developed. This was about 500 billion years later.

The eruptions of volcanoes and their byproducts produced the elements which created the rudiments of an atmosphere, but the greatest contributor occurred during the second great period, the Archean Eon, when methane droplets in the air covered everything within the anaerobic environment. However, Oxygen was found in the compound of water and there was now water on the surface of the planet. 

Life was very limited in this environment. In essence all organism that existed during this time needed to use sulfide (H2S) as its primary source of energy. Remember, the simplest definition of life is the ability to utilize and control energy and therefore, to exist.

The water in the oceans allowed complex chemical reactions within the oceans. It transformed carbon-containing molecules into simple, living cells that did not need oxygen to live. You might wonder where the carbon came from… the answer is in the methane. Methane is a compound made up of one Carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms all within the form of a tetrahedron. It is oxidized to produce carbon dioxide and water vapor.

So now we have oceans, a small atmosphere, and small living carbon based molecules that are living in the oceans and feeding off the sulfur and other elements.

Instead they made energy out of sulfur and other elements. These molecules are the first living things were the heterotrophs which were simple, single-celled, micro-organisms called prokaryotes as they lacked a cell membrane and a cell nucleus. We still haven’t gotten to air yet, but we are getting very close.  The first prokaryotes were called Archaea.  Archaea are prokaryotes that inhabit extreme environments, such as inside of volcanoes,  Prokaryotic organisms can live in every type of environment on Earth, from very hot, to very cold, to super haline, to very acidic.   The structure of the archaea is that of a single-celled organisms which is lacking of a nuclei.  It had been formerly called the archaebacteria, but we now know they are found to differ fundamentally from bacteria

As bacteria are the first organism that originated on earth they tend to be the hardiest.  Their genetic evolution is very adaptable.  The information gained over its life time, which can arise from adaptations in response to environmental changes or the immune response of the host is superior to that of human who need multiple generations to show evidence of mutation and change.

Our next timeline, arguably 2.7 billion years, and the Earth contains bluish-green microscopic organisms, the cyanobacteria in its oceans.

These organisms converted the Carbon Dioxide, water, and sunlight through the process of photosynthesis into sugar molecules and oxygen. They were the first autotrophs and these were responsible for the creation of the oxygen in our atmosphere. About two billion years ago, the methane gas cleared and the sky turned blue. At this point we start seeing the diverse types of life that typify our planet. The oxygen reacted with minerals creating more diversity and slowly all of the sulfur consuming organism died out as oxygen took over.

The gases of oxygen and nitrogen with a small amount of argon, Carbon dioxide (CO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO) hydrogen, ozone(O3), methane, helium, neon, krypton and xenon form our air and insulator the atmosphere. The air of our atmosphere has to be important functions not only for us but for organic and inorganic organisms and substances.

Here are 5 reasons why Air is important to Us.

1. The air carries aerosols from one location to another where it can get processed.
2. Air is the element responsible for facilitating respiration in plants and animals.
3. Air stores water in balanced forms based upon need and releases it appropriately.
4. Air creates pressure which protects each layer of atmosphere on and above the Earth from UV radiation, extreme heat and cold, and foreign objects from space such as meteorites.
5. Air affects our weather.

Well, you might be curious wonder what’s in this for you? The answer is simple. Most of us have been thought these little factoids when we were young but we have forgotten much of it. You can’t have respect for a thing unless you know it exists and what its value is to you. Air is important to all of us. As a Psion you will learn more about all of the primary elements, not only air. The more you know the more you can use the information to build a better world for yourself and your family.

Thank you for Reading!

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