Pascal (unit)The pascal (symbol: Pa) is the unit of pressure in the International System of Units (SI), and is also used to quantify internal pressure, stress, Young's modulus, and ultimate tensile strength. The unit, named after Blaise Pascal, is defined as one newton per square metre and is equivalent to 10 barye (Ba) in the CGS system. The unit of measurement called standard atmosphere (atm) is defined as 101,325 Pa. Common multiple units of the pascal are the hectopascal (1 hPa = 100 Pa), which is equal to one millibar, and the kilopascal (1 kPa = 1000 Pa), which is equal to one centibar.
Millimetre of mercuryA millimetre of mercury is a manometric unit of pressure, formerly defined as the extra pressure generated by a column of mercury one millimetre high, and currently defined as exactly 133.322387415 pascals or exactly 133.322 pascals. It is denoted mmHg or mm Hg. Although not an SI unit, the millimetre of mercury is still routinely used in medicine, aviation, and many other scientific fields. One millimetre of mercury is approximately 1 Torr, which is 1/760 of standard atmospheric pressure (101325/760 ≈ 133.
Inch of mercuryInch of mercury (inHg and ′′Hg) is a non-SI unit of measurement for pressure. It is used for barometric pressure in weather reports, refrigeration and aviation in the United States. It is the pressure exerted by a column of mercury in height at the standard acceleration of gravity. Conversion to metric units depends on the temperature of mercury, and hence its density; typical conversion factors are: In older literature, an "inch of mercury" is based on the height of a column of mercury at .
Bar (unit)The bar is a metric unit of pressure, but not part of the International System of Units (SI); it is defined as 100,000 Pa (100 kPa). A pressure of 1 bar is slightly less than the current average atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea level (approximately 1.013 bar). By the barometric formula, 1 bar is roughly the atmospheric pressure on Earth at an altitude of 111 metres at 15 °C. The bar and the millibar were introduced by the Norwegian meteorologist Vilhelm Bjerknes, who was a founder of the modern practice of weather forecasting, with the bar defined as one megadyne per square centimeter.
BarometerA barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis to help find surface troughs, pressure systems and frontal boundaries. Barometers and pressure altimeters (the most basic and common type of altimeter) are essentially the same instrument, but used for different purposes.
Centimetre or millimetre of waterA centimetre or millimetre of water (US spelling centimeter or millimeter of water) are less commonly used measures of pressure based on the pressure head of water. A centimetre of water (US spelling centimeter of water) is a unit of pressure. It may be defined as the pressure exerted by a column of water of 1 cm in height at 4 °C (temperature of maximum density) at the standard acceleration of gravity, so that 1 cmH2O (4°C) = 999.9720 kg/m3 × 9.80665 m/s2 × 1 cm = 98.063754138 Pa ≈ 98.
Standard atmosphere (unit)The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as 101325 Pa. It is sometimes used as a reference pressure or standard pressure. It is approximately equal to Earth's average atmospheric pressure at sea level. The standard atmosphere was originally defined as the pressure exerted by a 760 mm column of mercury at and standard gravity (gn = 9.80665m/s2). It was used as a reference condition for physical and chemical properties, and was implicit in the definition of the Celsius temperature scale, which defined as the boiling point of water at this pressure.
Evangelista TorricelliEvangelista Torricelli (ˌtɒriˈtʃɛli ; evandʒeˈlista torriˈtʃɛlli; 15 October 1608 - 25 October 1647) was an Italian physicist and mathematician, and a student of Galileo. He is best known for his invention of the barometer, but is also known for his advances in optics and work on the method of indivisibles. The torr is named after him. Torricelli was born on 15 October 1608 in Rome, the firstborn child of Gaspare Torricelli and Caterina Angetti. His family was from Faenza in the Province of Ravenna, then part of the Papal States.
PressurePressure (symbol: p or P) is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled gage pressure) is the pressure relative to the ambient pressure. Various units are used to express pressure. Some of these derive from a unit of force divided by a unit of area; the SI unit of pressure, the pascal (Pa), for example, is one newton per square metre (N/m2); similarly, the pound-force per square inch (psi, symbol lbf/in2) is the traditional unit of pressure in the imperial and US customary systems.
Metric prefixA metric prefix is a unit prefix that precedes a basic unit of measure to indicate a multiple or submultiple of the unit. All metric prefixes used today are decadic. Each prefix has a unique symbol that is prepended to any unit symbol. The prefix kilo-, for example, may be added to gram to indicate multiplication by one thousand: one kilogram is equal to one thousand grams. The prefix milli-, likewise, may be added to metre to indicate division by one thousand; one millimetre is equal to one thousandth of a metre.
