ABSTRACT
This chapter explains atmosphere is neither cosmic nor affective but the fusion of the two. It follows the example of geographer Derek McCormack, in a study that focuses on the ill-fated expedition of the Swedish explorer Salomon August Andree and his compatriots, who attempted to fly a hydrogen-filled balloon to the North Pole. Sure, the science tells that hot air rises, hydrogen is lighter than other gases, and therefore that a balloon filled with heated hydrogen will have a strong inclination to lift. The chapter discusses if the linear paths of haptic perception, like the fibres of felt, weave the texture of smooth space, then the atmosphere comprises the medium that makes such perception possible. People should therefore be circumspect in their vicinity, lest they take offence and surge with potentially disastrous consequences. Air in this sense, like wind and weather, is experienced, not recorded. In the 'atmosphere' of scientific meteorology, it would be impossible to fly in a balloon.
