The troposphere is the layer closest to the earth. This region is probably the best known because the air that we breathe is housed in this layer. Most of the water vapor in the sky is also contained in this area; therefore, most of the clouds in the atmosphere are formed here. Thunderstorms and other types of weather occurs in this layer of the atmosphere.
In addition to the large amounts of water vapor, the troposphere also houses gas and dust particles. As the sunlight passes through the atmosphere, especially the troposphere, it is broken down into spectrum and gives the sky its color. Therefore, white light is broken down into its basic colors- violet, blue, yellow and red. Different particles within the atmosphere scatter different colors. The blue and violet colors of the spectrum are usually scattered more than the yellow and red colors. The sky appears to be blue because the blue and violet rays are reflected into our line of vision. If large particles of dust, smoke, or fog are present, the red and yellow colors scatter just as much as the blue and violet color causing the sky to appear white.
Immediately following a rainstorm usually a natural spectrum of light known as a rainbow may appear in the sky. Rainbows are caused by the separation of sunlight into a range of colors. In this case, rain drops are the means of separation. Bending and reflection of light rays in the falling raindrops separate each separate each ray of white light into a spectrum of colors.
Another characteristic of the troposphere is that its temperature drops as it goes higher. The troposphere’s temperature drops about 6.5 degrees Celsius for every kilometer in which one travels from the earth’s surface. However, after about 12 kilometers above the earth’s surface the temperature seems to stop dropping. The zone at which the temperature starts to remain constant is called the tropopause. It divides the troposphere from the next layer of the atmosphere.