ligosan
ligosan t1_j67c673 wrote
Reply to Eli5 : What does hot air rise and cold fall? And why they higher I get in the atmosphere, the colder it get? by hopitlong21
Cold air is a lot denser, as the particles that make it up move less. So, hot air gets pushed upwards, as it moves more. Think of it as a person trying to move through a crowd.
Hotness is kinetic energy that's been transferred as heat. If you move a lot, you get hot and sweat, but you stay still, you cool down. There's no active movement in the upper atmosphere, so naturally, it gets cold.
ligosan t1_j67e4oq wrote
Reply to comment by amatulic in Eli5 : What does hot air rise and cold fall? And why they higher I get in the atmosphere, the colder it get? by hopitlong21
Thanks for the correction :)