Pascal (unit)
The pascal (symbol: Pa) is the SI derived unit of pressure used to quantify, internal pressure, stress, Young's modulus and ultimate tensile strength. It is defined as one newton per square metre. It is named after the French polymath Blaise Pascal.
Common multiple units of the pascal are the hectopascal (1 hPa = 100 Pa) which is equal to one millibar, the kilopascal (1 kPa = 1000 Pa), the megapascal (1 MPa = 1,000,000 Pa), and the gigapascal (1 GPa = 1,000,000,000 Pa).
The unit of measurement called standard atmosphere (atm) is defined as 101.325 kPa and approximates to the average pressure at sea-level at 45° N.Meteorological reports typically state atmospheric pressure in hectopascals.
Etymology
The unit is named after Blaise Pascal, noted for his contributions to hydrodynamics and hydrostatics, and experiments with a barometer. The name pascal was adopted for the SI unit newton per square metre (N/m2) by the 14th General Conference on Weights and Measures in 1971.
Definition
