Nature has always been kind to us and has bestowed upon us a countless

number of favors. Among these favors, nothing astonishes me more than our
own atmosphere. In this write-up, Ill try and defend this. Before proceeding, I
would like to give a brief definition of the atmosphere vis--vis earth. The
Atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding our planet held in place by the
earths gravity and extends up to about 100km. After this point, the Karman
line begins which marks the boundary between our atmosphere and the outer
space. The atmosphere fulfills the whole bunch of different purposes. It keeps us
warm, protects us from suns radiation, distributes heat and water across the
surface of the earth and let us breathe! Its just mesmerizing to see how
perfectly God has engineered this wonder layer. Its composition, distribution of
gases and selective permeability to radiation- all is a part of a perfect plan, we
owe our lives to.
Miraculous composition of Nitrogen and Oxygen:
The lower layer of atmosphere, called as the troposphere, is made up of a whole
bunch of different gases but most of it are just Nitrogen (78.08%) and Oxygen
(20.95%) which together comprises of about 99.03%. The remaining percentage
is mostly argon. (Carbon dioxide, Methane, Krypton, Hydrogen, Neon etc., all
make guest appearances). The large percentage of Nitrogen in the atmosphere
bothered me as a child. Thank God, now I know that nitrogen has a number of
uses. Since it is an inert gas, it can be used to replace air and reduce or eliminate
oxidation of materials and thus inhibits the rate of decaying of food articles. It is
therefore also used as a refrigerant for the preservation of blood, food articles
etc. If it were not there the atmosphere might contain much higher levels of
oxygen. Higher levels of oxygen would not be an advantage for animals, it could
lead to metabolic problems and there might be combustion problems and even
the simplest fire would soon go out of control! Higher levels of carbon dioxide
would certainly damage animal life but perhaps assist plant life. Thus, there is a
perfect balance between the two main gases in the atmosphere. This balance is
definitely not a mere chance!
The position of Ozone gas: The ozone layer is yet another stunning marvel of
nature. It lies in the next upper layer of the atmosphere -the stratosphere. Its
perfect placement in the stratosphere startles me and it should because if it
would have been present in the lower troposphere, it would be lethal to humans!
As studies suggest, ozone whether in its pure form or mixed with other chemicals
can be harmful to health. When inhaled, ozone can damage the lungs, cause
coughing, chest pain, can lead to permanent scarring of lung tissue, loss of lung
function and reduced lung elasticity.
The UV Shield: Apart from the above favors, the atmosphere also protects us
from the biologically harmful Ultraviolet-radiations. While nitrogen absorbs
extremely short or vacuum UV, most of these rays are able to penetrate it
nitrogen and are divided into three categories, based on their wavelengths;
these are referred to as UV-A (400315 nm), UV-B (315280 nm), and UV-C (280

100 nm). Here something marvelous occurs. Ozone absorbs all of UV-C and most
of the UV-B radiations-both of which are extremely harmful and can cause
genetic damage leading to skin cancer. However, some of the UV-B radiation
particularly at its longest wavelengths, reaches the surface and is important for
the skins production of vitamin D! Isnt it amazing that our atmosphere acts like
a semi-permeable membrane, allowing what is needed by us and blocking what
is not? None programmed it to do so except God.
Buffer against meteoroids: Earth is constantly being bombarded by
meteoroids which enter earths atmosphere at speeds of about 72000km/hr. In
the absence of an atmosphere, these meteoroids would be very lethal. However,
the atmosphere acts like a shield and owing to aerodynamic heating (heat
produced due to the high-speed passage of objects through air), most of them
burn up and dont reach the surface of the earth. Those that make it to the
surface are too small to make any difference and thus, it is extremely unlikely
you will be hit by a meteor. Relax!
I would like to end this write-up by quoting from the Quran, and We made the
sky a secure canopy, and yet they turn away from these Signs which
these things point to. (21:32)