Scribd
Upload
77 views2 pages

What Is A Barometer

A barometer is a scientific instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure. It works by balancing the weight of a mercury column with the air pressure outside. Higher air pressure pushes more mercury up the tube, while lower pressure allows it to drop down. Barometers display the current pressure in units of inches of mercury and can be used to forecast short-term weather changes based on pressure trends. The basic design involves a glass tube filled with mercury and an open reservoir at the bottom.

Uploaded by

vijay kumar honnali
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
77 views2 pages

What Is A Barometer

A barometer is a scientific instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure. It works by balancing the weight of a mercury column with the air pressure outside. Higher air pressure pushes more mercury up the tube, while lower pressure allows it to drop down. Barometers display the current pressure in units of inches of mercury and can be used to forecast short-term weather changes based on pressure trends. The basic design involves a glass tube filled with mercury and an open reservoir at the bottom.

Uploaded by

vijay kumar honnali
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

What is a Barometer?

by Editorial Staff
A barometer is a scientific instrument used in meteorology to measure atmospheric pressure.
Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather.

Barometers and pressure altimeters (the most basic and common type of altimeter) are essentially
the same instrument, but used for different purposes.

An altimeter is intended to be transported from place to place matching the atmospheric pressure
to the corresponding altitude, while a barometer is kept stationary and measures subtle pressure
changes caused by weather.

A mercury barometer has a glass tube closed at one end with an open mercury-filled reservoir at
the base. The weight of the mercury creates a vacuum in the top of the tube known as
Torricellian vacuum.

Mercury in the tube adjusts until the weight of the mercury column balances the atmospheric
force exerted on the reservoir. High atmospheric pressure places more force on the reservoir,
forcing mercury higher in the column.

Low pressure allows the mercury to drop to a lower level in the column by lowering the force
placed on the reservoir. Since higher temperature levels around the instrument will reduce the
density of the mercury, the scale for reading the height of the mercury is adjusted to compensate
for this effect.

The tube has to be at least as long as the amount dipping in the mercury + head space + the
maximum length of the column.

The pressure is shown on your barometer’s dial, usually expressed in “inches” referring to
“inches of mercury” (inch Hg).

The early barometers measured the pressure by the rise or fall of a column of mercury. This
mercury barometer was invented back in 1643 by a pupil of Galileo named Evangelista Toricelli.

This is the basic instrument use for detecting atmospheric pressure. A simple diagram of a
barometer is given in the figure below.
With the column at equilibrium at point (stationary), at Point A;

 Forces Up = Forces Down


 Weight of the column = Atmospheric Pressure × Area
 Density × Area × Height = Atmospheric Pressure × Area
 Atmospheric pressure = ρhg

You might also like