Nitro Joe will be appearing in several library branches throughout the summer. During his show, Joe will show you just how real air really is. Nitro Joe will use air pressure to crush objects and move things around. Bernoulli’s Principle will be demonstrated by making toilet paper fly and by creating Tornado Donuts. Nitro Joe’s Schedule

Keywords that promise a good time:

• nitro
• crush
• toilet paper
• tornado
• donuts

Even though air seems like nothing, it really is something. Gases like air, even though they are not visible to our eyes, are made up of molecules just like solid objects. These molecules are pulled toward the earth by gravity.

Earth is surrounded by a layer of air that is heavy. That layer of air exerts pressure on the surface of the earth, a lot of pressure. Our bodies are used to it so it doesn’t bother us. In fact, we are so used to it that what bothers us is when the air pressure is gone.

The higher you go in the atmosphere, the less air pressure there is because the “thickness” of the air is less the higher you go. That’s why airplanes have “pressurized” cabins. We can’t survive in too little air pressure.

Here are some websites and books that will help you understand air pressure:

• CloudsRUs: Air Pressure
• NASA: It’s a Breeze How Air Pressure Affects You
• National Weather Service: Air Pressure
• Physical Geography: Introduction to the Atmosphere
• Bernoulli’s Principle Animation

Here are some air pressure experiments to try at home:

Air Pressure: Do Not Open BottleAir Pressure: Straw Through an Apple

Words to Know:

Air Pressure – The force that air exerts due to it’s weight. Even though air seems like nothing, it really is something. Gases like air, even though they are not visible to our eyes, are made up of molecules just like solid objects.