# Vacuum in our atmosphere **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 12, 2017, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacuum-in-our-atmosphere/791129 "2017-07-12T21:45:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nansbread1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Nansbread1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nansbread1)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacuum-in-our-atmosphere/791129/1 "2017-07-12T21:45:59Z")
Are there any circumstances where a vacuum is created in our atmosphere. Could any combination of weather or electrical factors create the right situation for a vacuum. What would be the effects on humans. Has any atmospheric disaster been blamed on naturally occurring vacuums? ---
**Author:** ![Ornery\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/da6949/32.png) [@Ornery\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ornery_Bob)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacuum-in-our-atmosphere/791129/2 "2017-07-12T21:59:38Z")
There are no places in the atmosphere that don’t contain atmosphere. “Low” and “high” pressure are relative terms - you don’t have “no pressure” areas. ---
**Author:** ![Nansbread1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Nansbread1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nansbread1)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacuum-in-our-atmosphere/791129/3 "2017-07-12T22:09:18Z")
To add to my question. Do any laws of Physics, thermodynamics etc preclude the formation of a vacuum in our atmosphere. Even if it happens as a transient yet measurable or even theoretically predictable phenomena. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacuum-in-our-atmosphere/791129/4 "2017-07-12T22:30:55Z")
How thin does it have to be before you’re willing to call it a vacuum, and how big a region do you want? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacuum-in-our-atmosphere/791129/5 "2017-07-12T22:38:20Z")
The channel of a lightning bolt is about as close as you are going to get, and that isn’t a very good vacuum. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacuum-in-our-atmosphere/791129/6 "2017-07-12T22:45:36Z")
In the 19th century there was a theory that lightning produced a vacuum along its path and that thunder was caused by air rushing to fill it. That’s not the current theory, though. Now it’s thought that lightning superheats the air along its path and the sudden expansion causes thunder. This is much like an explosion where air being displaced causes the boom. In both situations there will be a temporary area of low air density, but I don’t think low enough to be considered a vacuum. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacuum-in-our-atmosphere/791129/7 "2017-07-12T22:48:50Z")
Nature abhors a vacuum. Somebody had to say it! ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacuum-in-our-atmosphere/791129/8 "2017-07-12T23:06:41Z")
I’ve got a vacuum in my closet. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacuum-in-our-atmosphere/791129/9 "2017-07-12T23:59:40Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > I’ve got a vacuum in my closet. The best place to keep it, away from that nasty Nature that abhors it. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacuum-in-our-atmosphere/791129/10 "2017-07-13T00:25:26Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > I’ve got a vacuum in my closet. It’s a little disappointing, but there isn’t even a vacuum inside your vacuum. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacuum-in-our-atmosphere/791129/11 "2017-07-13T00:26:20Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > It’s a little disappointing, but there isn’t even a vacuum inside your vacuum. Tell me about it. It’s full of cat hair. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacuum-in-our-atmosphere/791129/12 "2017-07-13T00:31:51Z")
And cat hair is made of stars! ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacuum-in-our-atmosphere/791129/13 "2017-07-13T00:41:13Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And cat hair is made of stars! All right Carl. Cat hair, cat poop, it’s all star stuff. Stars are gross. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacuum-in-our-atmosphere/791129/14 "2017-07-13T00:47:11Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > All right Carl. Cat hair, cat poop, it’s all star stuff. Stars are gross. Because of them, we’re billion year old carbon. Yucch. Who likes rotten carbon? ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacuum-in-our-atmosphere/791129/15 "2017-07-13T01:06:50Z")
[Here ya go.](http://68.media.tumblr.com/94600454c38cfe4da656bc830a6eebc2/tumblr_mkpg7cF7bs1rg0lgoo1_500.gif) ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacuum-in-our-atmosphere/791129/16 "2017-07-13T01:19:12Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Cat hair, cat poop, it’s all star stuff. Because it comes from the stars, cat poop has other amazing properties. A single gram of cat poop has a rest mass energy of 9 x 10[sup]13[/sup] Joules, equivalent to about 22,000 metric tons of TNT. Be careful with that stuff, man! ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacuum-in-our-atmosphere/791129/17 "2017-07-13T02:48:28Z")
> [@Nansbread1](#): > > [snip] … Do any laws of Physics, thermodynamics etc preclude the formation of a vacuum in our atmosphere. Even if it happens as a transient yet measurable or even theoretically predictable phenomena. We have the Third Law of Thermodynamics that precludes a _total_ vacuum … but there’s lab-top vacuum chambers that can get down to 10[sup]-5[/sup] mb (I think) … there’s probably bigger … Air pressure is caused by gravity, and gravity is pretty constant stuff … next step would be to remove the air … some blast of solar radiation or crud stripping the Earth’s atmosphere away … Mercury has a “tenuous” atmosphere so I don’t know if that’s vacuum enough for you … There may be an instant when an explosion has finished expanding, the exhaust gases would rapidly cool lowering pressure … this may be more of a very low pressure space rather than a near vacuum … and it would collapse just as quickly … I’d say “no” without some catastrophic event happening … ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacuum-in-our-atmosphere/791129/18 "2017-07-13T04:20:49Z")
IIRC from my college vacuum technology class, the highest vacuum in nature is created by the octopus. The highest man made vacuum is created for printing semiconductor chips. This high vacuum uses cryogenic technology to remove molecules rather than pure suction. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacuum-in-our-atmosphere/791129/19 "2017-07-13T05:54:20Z")
> [@Nansbread1](#): > > To add to my question. > > Do any laws of Physics, thermodynamics etc preclude the formation of a vacuum in our atmosphere. Even if it happens as a transient yet measurable or even theoretically predictable phenomena. As I understand it. gas behaviour laws are statistical - there is a non-zero chance that, sometime this morning, all of the particles of gas in the room where you are sitting will move into one corner, leaving the rest of the room in vacuum. However, whilst the chance of that happening is not zero, it might as well be, because it relies on a hugely compounded set of chances - imagine rolling a fair die eleventy sexttillion times, and always happening to throwing a six - it’s _possible_, but you’re not going to see it happen. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacuum-in-our-atmosphere/791129/20 "2017-07-13T05:56:41Z")
> [@am77494](#): > > IIRC from my college vacuum technology class, the highest vacuum in nature is created by the octopus. There are species of shrimp that click their claws to produce cavitation in water (cavitation essentially being bubbles of vacuum) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacuum-in-our-atmosphere/791129.md?page=2)