Air is a band comprised of the dynamic duo Jean Benoit (JB) Dunckel and Nicolas Godin. They come from France, and met each other in college while playing in an indie rock band called Orange. After college Dunckel taught math and physics, and Godin pursued a career in architecture.

They continued to collaborate after graduation, and a mutual friend (a representative of Source Records) suggested that they do a track for Sourcelab 1, the first compilation released by Source Records in September of 1995. They recorded Modular Mix, which became a hit on the United Kingdom charts.

Soon after Modular Mix they recorded Cassonova 70, which was released on Sourcelab Records's second compilation, Sourcelab 2, in June of 1996. Air released their first EP, titled Premiers Symptomes, one full year later.

JB and Nicolas released several singles in the next few months, and in January of 1998 they released Moon Safari, their first full length album. Moon Safari met rave reviews and tremendous popularity in Europe, but Air's unconvential ethereal sounds produced by acoustic instruments mingled with electronic apparatus was received with less enthusiasm in the United States market.

Moon Safari prompted Source Records to re-release Premiers Symptomes in September 1999, this time with two additional tracks not on the original. Air was asked at this point by Sofia Coppola to write and perform the score to her directional debut, The Virgin Suicides, a movie based on the cult novel written by Jeffrey Eugenides. Nicolas and JB were happy to oblige and on February 29, 2000, The Original Motion Picture Score for The Virgin Suicides was released to the world.

Update: Air's new album should be out sometime spring 2001, and it features Beck on two tracks.

In typesetting, the term "air" refers to the amount of white space in a layout.

as an astrological term, air is one of the elements which are associated with a sign of the zodiac.

air signs enjoy the qualities of air, the intangible things in life. they are stimulated by the intellectual, often forgetting the real world looking for something new to learn. air signs tend to be attracted more to ideas than to action. in reacting to the world, they tend to shove aside pratical and emotional responses, attempting to make rational, unbiased decisions. this may make them seem cold or uncaring in relationships.



the elements: fire, earth, air, water

n. space between the tires and the ground. (Both tires must be off the ground or it isn't "air.") Said to be caught or gotten. Also: sky.

From the Dictionary of Mountain Bike Slang

AIR is email/chat-speak for as I recall, similar in meaning and useage to IIRC ("if I remember/recall correctly"). AIR is seen less frequently, a bit more poetic, and sometimes more honest (or humble) than IIRC. IIRC implies that the statement is correct if recalled correctly: this does not acknowledge that the speaker may have been initially misinformed. AIR makes no such assertion.

Clean air is odourless, tasteless, invisible, and pretty boring, but we'd have considerable trouble living without it, since we breathe it.

Air is, of course, useful for many other things beyond breathing. It's a useful medium for the convection of heat and for burning things in. This is because of the level of oxygen content. The world would be a cold place above its surface without air.

We get many of the things we need for manufacturing from the air. The nitrogen and inert (noble) gases are quite good at stopping oxidation (burning) during welding, and of course, the oxygen is useful if we need to burn something. The Argon that we can seperate from the air is used in light bulbs to prevent the burning of the filament, and liquid nitrogen is quite useful for freezing things. Beyond that, air allows soundwaves to travel through the space around us into our ears, and so allows us to communicate verbally. Air can be used to inflate things that we need to be large when used, but tightly packed for travel, and the comfortable ride in cars due to the pressurised tyres comes courtesy of the air.

So there it is - air. Unless you're in space, it's likely you're surrounded by it.

Air is the substance that surrounds us, and which we breathe. I have been recently surprised at how little people actually know about air (like people in The Weakest Link, a quiz show, not knowing what percentage of air is oxygen). So I will ouline the basics of what is known as air.

Location
Air occurs in the atmosphere. In fact, the atmosphere is defined as the area around the planet that contains gases. For more on the atmosphere, you can go here.
Composition
The air is made up primarily of gases. It is almost entirely a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen, but contains other gases too, and also suspended dust and small organisms such as bacteria. The percentage of gases (and other stuff) in the air varies with altitude, location and humidity, and also on the particular time, as wind, for example, plays a part in determining the air's composition. Water vapor is the gas which varies most. In desert areas, water vapor may account for as little as 0.1% of the air, while in warm, humid zones, it may be as much as 6%. The higher up we go, the less heavier particles are found in the air, so the higher we go, the percentage of lighter gases goes up, and there is very little dust and particles. A typical composition of dry air is shown below.

Substance          | Percent (by volume)
-----------------------------------------
Nitrogen           |   78.08
Oxygen             |   20.95
Argon              |    0.93
Carbon dioxide     |    0.03
Neon               |   traces
Helium             |   traces
Methane            |   traces
Krypton            |   traces


Carbon dioxide does not make up a large proportion of the air, but it is significant. It is important because it is a greenhouse gas and helps contribute to global warming. It is taken out of the atmosphere by photosynthesis, and enters it by breathing, decay, and many human activities, such as industry and car exhausts. Carbon dioxide in the air has risen from approximately 290 parts per million by volume (ppmv) around 1900 to about 366 ppmv at the end of 1998. This is mostly due to human activities.
The molecular level
Air molecules take up only 0.1% of the volume they occupy. Thus 99.9% of air is actually a vacuum. There are 2.7 x 1019 molecules in every cubic centimeter of air, and the average speed of air molecules is about 500 m/s. Because of this, air molecules are constantly colliding with each other. Each molecule has about 5 collision every nanosecond!
Uses
The greatest commercial use for air is in obtaining the separate gases from it. The major gases (nitrogen, oxygen and the noble gases) are extracted using fractional distillation. Before this, water vapor and carbon dioxide are removed, as they freeze at low temperatures (other gases liquify), and the solids would block the equipment.

Oxygen boils at -183ºC. It is the third most produced substance by volume in the US (after sulphuric acid and nitrogen). It is used mostly for metal manufacture, metal fabricating and health services.

Nitrogen is obtained at -196ºC. It is used primarily in chemical processing, electronics, as a freezing agent and in fertilizers.

Also produced by distillation are noble gases, most notably argon, which provides an inert atmosphere in metallurgy, as is used in neon lights. (Neon lights are not always made from neon. In fact, any gas which emits light when a current is passed through it works. Neon, specifically, emits an orange-red light, while argon produces a blue-green light.)

Sources:

  • http://www.usatoday.com
  • http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu
  • http://www.dep.state.pa.us/
  • http://www.ems.psu.edu

Air (#), n. [OE. air, eir, F. air, L. aer, fr. Gr. , air, mist, for , fr. root to blow, breathe, probably akin to E. wind. In sense 10 the French has taking a meaning fr. It. aria atmosphere, air, fr. the same Latin word; and in senses 11, 12, 13 the French meaning is either fr. L. aria, or due to confusion with F. aire, in an older sense of origin, descent. Cf. Ary, Debonair, Malaria, Wind.]

1.

The fluid which we breathe, and which surrounds the earth; the atmosphere. It is invisible, inodorous, insipid, transparent, compressible, elastic, and ponderable.

⇒ By the ancient philosophers, air was regarded as an element; but modern science has shown that it is essentially a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen, with a small amount of carbon dioxide, the average proportions being, by volume: oxygen, 20.96 per cent.; nitrogen, 79.00 per cent.; carbon dioxide, 0.04 per cent. These proportions are subject to a very slight variability. Air also always contains some vapor of water.

2.

Symbolically: Something unsubstantial, light, or volatile.

"Charm ache with air."

Shak.

He was still all air and fire. Macaulay
. [Air and fire being the finer and quicker elements as opposed to earth and water.]

3.

A particular state of the atmosphere, as respects heat, cold, moisture, etc., or as affecting the sensations; as, a smoky air, a damp air, the morning air, etc.

4.

Any aeriform body; a gas; as, oxygen was formerly called vital air.

[Obs.]

5.

Air in motion; a light breeze; a gentle wind.

Let vernal airs through trembling osiers play. Pope.

6.

Odoriferous or contaminated air.

7.

That which surrounds and influences.

The keen, the wholesome air of poverty. Wordsworth.

8.

Utterance abroad; publicity; vent.

You gave it air before me. Dryden.

9.

Intelligence; information.

[Obs.]

Bacon.

10. Mus. (a)

A musical idea, or motive, rhythmically developed in consecutive single tones, so as to form a symmetrical and balanced whole, which may be sung by a single voice to the stanzas of a hymn or song, or even to plain prose, or played upon an instrument; a melody; a tune; an aria.

(b)

In harmonized chorals, psalmody, part songs, etc., the part which bears the tune or melody -- in modern harmony usually the upper part -- is sometimes called the air.

11.

The peculiar look, appearance, and bearing of a person; mien; demeanor; as, the air of a youth; a heavy air; a lofty air.

"His very air."

Shak.

12.

Peculiar appearance; apparent character; semblance; manner; style.

It was communicated with the air of a secret. Pope.

12. pl.

An artificial or affected manner; show of pride or vanity; haughtiness; as, it is said of a person, he puts on airs.

Thackeray.

14. Paint. (a)

The representation or reproduction of the effect of the atmospheric medium through which every object in nature is viewed.

New Am. Cyc. (b)

Carriage; attitude; action; movement; as, the head of that portrait has a good air.

Fairholt.

15. Man.

The artificial motion or carriage of a horse.

Air is much used adjectively or as the first part of a compound term. In most cases it might be written indifferently, as a separate limiting word, or as the first element of the compound term, with or without the hyphen; as, air bladder, air-bladder, or airbladder; air cell, air-cell, or aircell; air-pump, or airpump.

Air balloon. See Balloon. -- Air bath. (a) An apparatus for the application of air to the body. (b) An arrangement for drying substances in air of any desired temperature. -- [Air castle[. See Castle in the air, under Castle. -- Air compressor, a machine for compressing air to be used as a motive power. -- Air crossing, a passage for air in a mine. -- Air cushion, an air-tight cushion which can be inflated; also, a device for arresting motion without shock by confined air. -- Air fountain, a contrivance for producing a jet of water by the force of compressed air. -- Air furnace, a furnace which depends on a natural draft and not on blast. -- Air line, a straight line; a bee line. Hence Air-line, adj.; as, air-line road. -- Air lock Hydr. Engin., an intermediate chamber between the outer air and the compressed-air chamber of a pneumatic caisson. Knight. -- Air port Nav., a scuttle or porthole in a ship to admit air. -- Air spring, a spring in which the elasticity of air is utilized. -- Air thermometer, a form of thermometer in which the contraction and expansion of air is made to measure changes of temperature. -- Air threads, gossamer. -- Air trap, a contrivance for shutting off foul air or gas from drains, sewers, etc.; a stench trap. -- Air trunk, a pipe or shaft for conducting foul or heated air from a room. -- Air valve, a valve to regulate the admission or egress of air; esp. a valve which opens inwardly in a steam boiler and allows air to enter. -- Air way, a passage for a current of air; as the air way of an air pump; an air way in a mine. -- In the air. (a) Prevalent without traceable origin or authority, as rumors. (b) Not in a fixed or stable position; unsettled. (c) Mil. Unsupported and liable to be turned or taken in flank; as, the army had its wing in the air. -- To take air, to be divulged; to be made public. -- To take the air, to go abroad; to walk or ride out.

 

© Webster 1913.


Air (#), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Aired (#); p. pr. & vb. n. Airing.] [See Air, n., and cf. Arate.]

1.

To expose to the air for the purpose of cooling, refreshing, or purifying; to ventilate; as, to air a room.

It were good wisdom . . . that the jail were aired. Bacon.

Were you but riding forth to air yourself. Shak.

2.

To expose for the sake of public notice; to display ostentatiously; as, to air one's opinion.

Airing a snowy hand and signet gem. Tennyson.

3.

To expose to heat, for the purpose of expelling dampness, or of warming; as, to air linen; to air liquors.

 

© Webster 1913.

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