Poll: How much air is it possible to see through?

[Vicarious Reality]

I would think that 50% moist air would block your vision after maybe a few miles

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megametre

Capthca: no-brainer

EDIT:Wait, what happened to my poll, i just edited in more options

 

[Tiger King]

depends on your eyesight I reckon, how come you want to know?
I mean, what's the interest behind such a question?

 

[Eleuthera]

Since, on a clear day, you can see across the Straight of Dover, and that's about 20 miles. It'll have to be more than that. You just have to be high up enough to compensate for the curvature of the earth.

 

[IceForce]

Depends on the density of the air particles, and their composition.

 

[Lieju]

Depends how clear it is, how much water vapour it has and what you define as 'seeing through' in the first place.

I think this question is too vague to answer properly.

 

[IceForce]

Depends how clear it is, how much water vapour it has and what you define as 'seeing through' in the first place.

I think this question is too vague to answer properly.

OP should probably also define what they mean by "air".

I assume they mean this? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Earth#Composition
Or does any transparent gas count?

You're right, this question is way too vague. Too many unknowns.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Hmmm...interesting question.

Though, at distance, you'd be running into problem because the object becomes hard to see anyway.

But yeah, depends on all sorts of things. Pressure, and composition and temperature and so on.

I remember hearing about a "cold shimmer" effect, like the opposite of a shiny hot roadway, which allows you to see around the curvature of the Earth.

 

[Andy of Comix Inc]

Hey can't you see the Earth from space so wouldn't the answer be "all of it"?

 

[IceForce]

Hey can't you see the Earth from space so wouldn't the answer be "all of it"?

You're not thinking about this from a scientific perspective.

'Density' is a thing.

If I took all the air around the world, and condensed it to the size of a football, you wouldn't be able to see through it. It would be completely opaque.

 

[ClockworkPenguin]

Hey can't you see the Earth from space so wouldn't the answer be "all of it"?

You're not thinking about this from a scientific perspective.

'Density' is a thing.

If I took all the air around the world, and condensed it to the size of a football, you wouldn't be able to see through it. It would be completely opaque.

Also, It'd be hotter than the sun and thus substantially more luminescent than opaque. Also, it wouldn't be 'air' since air is a gas rather than nuclear plasma.

 

[Lieju]

Depends how clear it is, how much water vapour it has and what you define as 'seeing through' in the first place.

I think this question is too vague to answer properly.

OP should probably also define what they mean by "air".

I assume they mean this? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Earth#Composition
Or does any transparent gas count?

You're right, this question is way too vague. Too many unknowns.

I thought 'air' generally referred to the atmosphere of Earth, but now that I think about it, if you were on Saturn, for example, would you call the, I dunno, outer atmosphere, which is mostly hydrogen, 'air'?

 

[Vicarious Reality]

depends on your eyesight I reckon, how come you want to know?
I mean, what's the interest behind such a question?

I have no idea
Of course, perfect human sight and STP
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_temperature_and_pressure
No pollution

Depends how clear it is, how much water vapour it has and what you define as 'seeing through' in the first place.

I think this question is too vague to answer properly.

Dude, did you not see me writing 50% moisture because of all the air
What do you define seeing through as?
Oh right now i remember why i asked, i remembered not seeing the ground through clouds

 

[DrOswald]

depends on your eyesight I reckon, how come you want to know?
I mean, what's the interest behind such a question?

I have no idea
Of course, perfect human sight and STP
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_temperature_and_pressure
No pollution

Depends how clear it is, how much water vapour it has and what you define as 'seeing through' in the first place.

I think this question is too vague to answer properly.

Dude, did you not see me writing 50% moisture because of all the air
What do you define seeing through as?
Oh right now i remember why i asked, i remembered not seeing the ground through clouds

The composition of the atmosphere is not uniform even discounting pollution. Also, clouds are not air.

In any case, visibility is determined primarily by how many particles are in the air. If you are asking how far the typical person with perfect human eyesight could be expected to see looking though the clearest air possible, then why didn't you just look that up?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visibility#Derivation

Like it or not, you question is too vague to answer properly.