Barometer

A barometer is a scient ific inst rument t hat is used t o measure air pressure in a cert ain
environment . Pressure t endency can forecast short t erm changes in t he weat her. Many
measurement s of air pressure are used wit hin surface weat her analysis t o help find surface
t roughs, pressure syst ems and front al boundaries.

Barometer
Baromet ers and pressure alt imet ers (t he most basic and common t ype of alt imet er) are
essent ially t he same inst rument , but used for different purposes. An alt imet er is int ended t o be
used at different levels mat ching t he corresponding at mospheric pressure t o t he alt it ude, while
a baromet er is kept at t he same level and measures subt le pressure changes caused by weat her
and element s of weat her. The average at mospheric pressure on t he eart h's surface varies
bet ween 940 and 1040 hPa (mbar). The average at mospheric pressure at sea level is 1013 hPa
(mbar).

Etymology

The word "baromet er" is derived from t he Ancient Greek: βάρος, romanized: báros meaning
"weight ", and Ancient Greek: μέτρον, romanized: métron meaning "measure".

History

Alt hough Evangelist a Torricelli is universally credit ed wit h invent ing t he baromet er in 1643,[1][2]
hist orical document at ion also suggest s Gasparo Bert i, an It alian mat hemat ician and ast ronomer,
unint ent ionally built a wat er baromet er somet ime bet ween 1640 and 1643.[1][3] French scient ist
and philosopher René Descart es described t he design of an experiment t o det ermine
at mospheric pressure as early as 1631, but t here is no evidence t hat he built a working
baromet er at t hat t ime.[1]

On 27 July 1630, Giovanni Bat t ist a Baliani wrot e a let t er t o Galileo Galilei explaining an experiment
he had made in which a siphon, led over a hill about t went y-one met ers high, failed t o work.
Galileo responded wit h an explanat ion of t he phenomenon: he proposed t hat it was t he power of
a vacuum t hat held t he wat er up, and at a cert ain height t he amount of wat er simply became t oo
much and t he force could not hold any more, like a cord t hat can support only so much
weight .[4][5] This was a rest at ement of t he t heory of horror vacui ("nat ure abhors a vacuum"),
which dat es t o Arist ot le, and which Galileo rest at ed as resistenza del vacuo.

Galileo's ideas reached Rome in December 1638 in his Discorsi. Raffaele Magiot t i and Gasparo
Bert i were excit ed by t hese ideas, and decided t o seek a bet t er way t o at t empt t o produce a
vacuum ot her t han wit h a siphon. Magiot t i devised such an experiment , and somet ime bet ween
1639 and 1641, Bert i (wit h Magiot t i, At hanasius Kircher and Niccolò Zucchi present ) carried it
out .[5]
Goethe's device

The concept t hat decreasing at mospheric pressure predict s st ormy weat her, post ulat ed by
Lucien Vidi, provides t he t heoret ical basis for a weat her predict ion device called a "weat her
glass" or a "Goet he baromet er" (named for Johann Wolfgang von Goet he, t he renowned German
writ er and polymat h who developed a simple but effect ive weat her ball baromet er using t he
principles developed by Torricelli). The French name, le baromètre Liègeois, is used by some
English speakers.[9] This name reflect s t he origins of many early weat her glasses – t he glass
blowers of Liège, Belgium.[9][10]

The weat her ball baromet er consist s of a glass cont ainer wit h a sealed body, half filled wit h
wat er. A narrow spout connect s t o t he body below t he wat er level and rises above t he wat er
level. The narrow spout is open t o t he at mosphere. When t he air pressure is lower t han it was at
t he t ime t he body was sealed, t he wat er level in t he spout will rise above t he wat er level in t he
body; when t he air pressure is higher, t he wat er level in t he spout will drop below t he wat er level
in t he body. A variat ion of t his t ype of baromet er can be easily made at home.[11]

Mercury barometers

A mercury baromet er is an inst rument used t o measure at mospheric pressure in a cert ain locat ion
and has a vert ical glass t ube closed at t he t op sit t ing in an open mercury-filled basin at t he
bot t om. Mercury in t he t ube adjust s unt il t he weight of it balances t he at mospheric force
exert ed on t he reservoir. High at mospheric pressure places more force on t he reservoir, forcing
mercury higher in t he column. Low pressure allows t he mercury t o drop t o a lower level in t he
column by lowering t he force placed on t he reservoir. Since higher t emperat ure levels around t he
inst rument will reduce t he densit y of t he mercury, t he scale for reading t he height of t he
mercury is adjust ed t o compensat e for t his effect . The t ube has t o be at least as long as t he
amount dipping in t he mercury + head space + t he maximum lengt h of t he column.

Schematic drawing of a simple mercury barometer with vertical mercury column and reservoir at base

Torricelli document ed t hat t he height of t he mercury in a baromet er changed slight ly each day
and concluded t hat t his was due t o t he changing pressure in t he at mosphere.[1] He wrot e: "We
live submerged at t he bot t om of an ocean of element ary air, which is known by incont est able
experiment s t o have weight ".[12] Inspired by Torricelli, Ot t o von Guericke on 5 December 1660
found t hat air pressure was unusually low and predict ed a st orm, which occurred t he next day.[13]
Fortin barometer

The mercury baromet er's design gives rise t o t he expression of at mospheric pressure in inches or
millimet ers of mercury (mmHg). A t orr was originally defined as 1 mmHg. The pressure is quot ed
as t he level of t he mercury's height in t he vert ical column. Typically, at mospheric pressure is
measured bet ween 26.5 inches (670 mm) and 31.5 inches (800 mm) of Hg. One at mosphere (1
at m) is equivalent t o 29.92 inches (760 mm) of mercury.
Reservoir of a Fortin barometer

Design changes t o make t he inst rument more sensit ive, simpler t o read, and easier t o t ransport
result ed in variat ions such as t he basin, siphon, wheel, cist ern, Fort in, mult iple folded,
st ereomet ric, and balance baromet ers.

In 2007, a European Union direct ive was enact ed t o rest rict t he use of mercury in new measuring
inst rument s int ended for t he general public, effect ively ending t he product ion of new mercury
baromet ers in Europe. The repair and t rade of ant iques (produced before lat e 1957) remained
unrest rict ed.[14][15]

Fitzroy barometer

Fitzroy baromet ers combine t he st andard mercury baromet er wit h a t hermomet er, as well as a
guide of how t o int erpret pressure changes.
Vacuum pump oil barometer

Using vacuum pump oil as t he working fluid in a baromet er has led t o t he creat ion of t he new
"World's Tallest Baromet er" in February 2013. The baromet er at Port land St at e Universit y (PSU)
uses doubly dist illed vacuum pump oil and has a nominal height of about 12.4 m for t he oil column
height ; expect ed excursions are in t he range of ±0.4 m over t he course of a year. Vacuum pump
oil has very low vapour pressure and it is available in a range of densit ies; t he lowest densit y
vacuum oil was chosen for t he PSU baromet er t o maximize t he oil column height .[20]

Aneroid barometers

Aneroid barometer

An aneroid baromet er is an inst rument used for measuring air pressure as a met hod t hat does not
involve liquid. Invent ed in 1844 by French scient ist Lucien Vidi,[21] t he aneroid baromet er uses a
small, flexible met al box called an aneroid cell (capsule), which is made from an alloy of beryllium
and copper. The evacuat ed capsule (or usually several capsules, st acked t o add up t heir
movement s) is prevent ed from collapsing by a st rong spring. Small changes in ext ernal air
pressure cause t he cell t o expand or cont ract . This expansion and cont ract ion drives mechanical
levers such t hat t he t iny movement s of t he capsule are amplified and displayed on t he face of
t he aneroid baromet er. Many models include a manually set needle which is used t o mark t he
current measurement so a change can be seen. This t ype of baromet er is common in homes and
in recreat ional boat s. It is also used in met eorology, most ly in barographs and as a pressure
inst rument in radiosondes.

Barographs