What is the point of wind?

Question

What is the point of wind?

Answer 1

to equalise air pressure and move heat from the equator to the poles and in doing so pick up moisture from warm wet places and deposit as rain on high otherwise dry land.

without it we would either freeze or boil!

Answer 2

To get rid of noxious gases in the digestive system

Answer 3

good question!!!

Wind is the movement of gases in the atmosphere of a planet. For example what we feel as cool air is inrush of air to replace air that has begun to rise due to convection(when the air rises after being heated from the Sun). This causes a difference in pressure between spots of low and high pressure so wind could be thought as one of the components of maintaining physical equilibrium on the planet.

There are several types of wind as well:

Geostrophic Wind(wind that is caused by a need to balance the Coriolis force and pressure gradient force), Thermal Wind(exists in a difference between two horizontal temperature graidents), Ageostropic wind(appears when there is a difference between actual wind and Geostrophic Wind), Gradient Wind(practically the same as the geostrophic wind but has a centralfugal force component to it)

Wind is also involved in the formation of landscapes through such processes as weathering.

Wind can also be used for generation of energy through wind turbines

To be honest wind is a consequence of other actions rather than being an individual phenomenon on its own.

If you are interested in this type of stuff do a little reading about the Red spot on Jupiter the biggest known storm in the Solar System!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter

Unless you are referring to flatulence - then this only exists to make an awful smell!!!!

Good question though- it made me think!!!

edit - clearly this is NOT a stupid question as wind is a fundamental part of Climatology and therefore integral in the everyday running of our planet. How are people meant to expand their knowledge with responses like that?

edit to TallPaul - Sounds like your being pedantic to me..........