Why do we not feel the enormous weight of the atmosphere
above our heads ?
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Answer Posted / john rhoades
The atmosphere has mass, and thus weight. There are thousands of pounds of atmosphere above you at all time. However, first imagine this weight being on you in a vacuum. As a fluid, it would more easily flow past and around you instead of just settling on you. However, eventually it would accumulate around you and fill up the space you're in, leaving you with still more atmosphere weighing on you. BUT, that atmosphere is being supported by the atmosphere all around you.
As a fluid, the transfer of normal force (the mechanical force that holds objects up against gravity when they're resting on something) is transferred into gaseous pressure instead of downwards force. So lower in the atmosphere, the air is denser to "hold up" more air above it.
That constant pressure is all around us, but it's also inside us, so it has no real net effect. It keeps gases dissolved in our blood, makes it possible to breathe in and out easily, and has other useful metabolic effects.
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