Atmospheric pressure
hideAtmospheric pressure is sometimes defined as the force per unit area exerted against a surface by the weight of air above that surface at any given point in the Earth's atmosphere. In most circumstances atmospheric pressure is closely approximated by the hydrostatic pressure caused by the weight of air above the measurement point. Low pressure areas have less atmospheric mass above their location, whereas high pressure areas have more atmospheric mass above their location. Similarly, as elevation increases there is less overlying atmospheric mass, so that pressure decreases with increasing elevation. A column of air one square inch in cross-section, measured from sea level to the top of the atmosphere, would weigh approximately 65.5 newtons (14.7 lbf). The weight of a 1 m2 (11 sq ft) column of air would be about 101 kN (10.3 tf).
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News tagged with atmospheric pressure
NASA satellite sees Olaf stretch out and fizzle over northwestern mainland Mexico
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 05, 2009 |
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Tropical Storm Olaf wasn't given much of a chance when he was born, and he never did make it to hurricane strength before fizzling out late Saturday night. NASA's Aqua satellite captured infrared imagery that ...
Novel Chemistry for Ethylene and Tin
Sep 29, 2009 |
3.7 / 5 (6) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- New work by chemists at UC Davis shows that ethylene, a gas that is important both as a hormone that controls fruit ripening and as a raw material in industrial chemistry, can bind reversibly to tin atoms. ...
New look at gravity data sheds light on ocean, climate
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Aug 27, 2009 |
5 / 5 (4) |
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A discovery about the moon made in the 1960s is helping researchers unlock secrets about Earth's ocean today.
Safer, Denser Acetylene Storage in an Organic Framework
Aug 26, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (5) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The century-old challenge of transporting acetylene may have been solved in principle by a team of scientists working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. A NIST research ...
NASA eyes Category 4 Hurricane Felicia and a stubborn Enrique
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Aug 06, 2009 |
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Felicia is the storm that rules the Eastern Pacific Ocean this week, but Enrique refuses to give up. Felicia is a major hurricane with sustained winds near 140 mph, and Enrique is still hanging onto tropical ...
Experts predict quieter Atlantic hurricane season
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Aug 04, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (4) |
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Weather experts on Wednesday reduced the number of projected hurricanes in the north Atlantic this season to four, two of them major hurricanes with winds above 178 kilometers (111 miles) per hour.
Hydrocarbons in the deep Earth?
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Jul 26, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (42) |
27
The oil and gas that fuels our homes and cars started out as living organisms that died, were compressed, and heated under heavy layers of sediments in the Earth's crust. Scientists have debated for years ...
Scientists predict greater longevity for planets with life
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Jun 13, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (14) |
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Roughly a billion years from now, the ever-increasing radiation from the sun will have heated Earth into inhabitability; the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that serves as food for plant life will disappear, ...
Enabling graphene-based technology via chemical functionalization
May 17, 2009 |
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Graphene is an atomically thin sheet of carbon that has attracted significant attention due to its potential use in high-performance electronics, sensors and alternative energy devices such as solar cells. While the physics ...
Study compares sound from exploding volcanoes with jet engines
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Apr 08, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (5) |
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New research on infrasound from volcanic eruptions shows an unexpected connection with jet engines. Researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego speeded up the recorded sounds from two ...
Probing question: What causes migraine?
Mar 19, 2009 |
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Imagine you are talking to a coworker when your vision blurs, and spots of light appear on the periphery. Feeling nauseated, you try to continue the conversation, but you’re having trouble remembering the words for things. ...
Liquid saltwater is likely present on Mars, new analysis shows
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Mar 17, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (18) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Salty, liquid water has been detected on a leg of the Mars Phoenix Lander and therefore could be present at other locations on the planet, according to analysis by a group of mission scientists ...
