[the science of New Mexico]
All about the high, dry, vibrant, prickly, quick-footed, stellar science of New Mexico.
If you’re a Betty Crocker fan, you know her boxed mixes have super-simple instructions—with one caveat. If you’re at a high altitude (“3,500 - 6,500 feet”), the ingredients are re-proportioned and the bake-time is recalculated. What gives?
Read MoreYesterday we saw that the air up in Albuquerque is about 15% less dense than a mile lower at sea level. It follows that every inhalation here contains 15% less substance: no matter how deeply you breathe, your blood just can’t pull quite as much precious oxygen from your lungs.
So how does your body adapt when you move from sea level to high altitude?
Read MoreAt an average of 5,300 feet above sea level—5,352 at the Sunport, as the ABQ airport is adorably named—Albuquerque is officially a mile-high city. That means the atmosphere is pretty thin around here.
After all, it’s common knowledge that the higher you go, the thinner it gets: skiers get light-headed around Boulder (10,000 feet), climbers wear oxygen tanks up Mount Everest (29,000 feet), and airplane cabins are pressurized to keep us conscious (36,000 feet).
But can you explain why? Why isn’t the planet wrapped in a blanket of evenly-dense air from the ground to the edge of space?
Read MoreNew Mexicology is go for launch! In our first week we’re going to lift off into the thin upper atmosphere, so take a deep breath and hold on tight.
Read MoreAll about the high, dry, vibrant, prickly, quick-footed, stellar science of New Mexico.
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