El Barometer It is used to measure the amount of pressure the wind exerts on a specific area, this means that it is an essential instrument to study meteorological phenomena, we invite you to learn much more about this valuable instrument in this post.
Atmospheric pressure
First of all, to talk about barometer it is necessary to explain what the Atmospheric pressure, which is the one that is exerted on all the bodies that are on the earth thanks to the load that the air supposes on them, this influence is relative depending on the level of height at which the body is, because the further away it is from the ground and the closer it is to the atmosphere.
The pressure is very variable, which makes it difficult to measure it accurately and makes the results obtained lose value very quickly, since time after being calculated it is very likely that they will not remain the same and will not have any relevance or relationship with respect to the point study.
However, this does not prevent a record from being made of the data obtained in order to keep track of the variations presented at the specific point, all this in order to later compare them and be able to study the aspects that influence changes in pressure, since they are several elements that are related to the alteration of atmospheric pressure.
These figures that are collected to keep track, can also help to find other data in relation to the temperature, precipitation and other details of a respective place, with this information together with the correct measuring instruments, it could be anticipated what the changes will be. that appear in the atmosphere and influence that place for a short period of time.
What is the Barometer?
Now, atmospheric pressure is also called barometric pressure because the barometer is one of the weather instruments which is used to measure pressure at a certain point and specify the exact data obtained through this calculation
When we talk about this instrument, we refer to a measurement element whose contribution to meteorology is essential to explain many atmospheric manifestations, the first time it was used was in 1643 in the hands of a physicist of Italian origin.
History
At first, people did not know that air, although it was a gas, actually did have weight, the discovery of atmospheric pressure began as a simple experiment with water, when it did not exceed a certain height, scientists believed that it was because the density of the water did not allow him to ascend above that point.
It was approximately in the year 1643 that an Italian physicist named Evangelista Torricelli, invented this measuring instrument through a practice related to an elongated container containing mercury, with this an experiment was attempted similar to the one that had been previously carried out with the Water.
When Torricelli saw that the weight of the mercury did not have a drastic influence and the increase or decrease in density was more than anything related to the height at which the pressure was measured, he was able to obtain that it was actually another element that intervened on the height that the element reached and the pressure that was exerted on the body, for this reason he deduced that it must be the air, since it was the only other influence that acted on the action.
The French mathematician Blaise Pascal heard about Torricelli's essays and his theory about the vacuum, the weight of air and the pressure it exerts on bodies, after several attempts to confirm the hypothesis that the Italian had already founded, exercises in those who had to involve his brother-in-law to carry out a task in which Pascal was not trained.
This brought him problems later on, because his assistant wanted to grant the entire discovery to himself, which the Frenchman did not allow, although this brought problems, it was all worth it in the end since the theory about the discovery could be corroborated. emptiness and space.
Although some experts had already proposed the idea that air had a weight and Torricelli even conceived an object that could measure the pressure it exerted, it was not until Pascal's experiments that the great scientists of the time opened their eyes.
Barometer Operation
The first invention of a barometer was made by Torricelli, it was made of mercury and was composed of a pillar of liquid that was contained in a tube that was sealed by the main part, it was measured according to the height reached by the metal inside the tube .
The operation of the barometer has changed over time and currently its management is much more precise, since all must be graduated in relation to sea level, which is used as an indicator so that the measuring instruments give equal results.
This is extremely important, since the result of pressure in a place above sea level is not the same as that of a place below sea level.
Parties
The parts of a barometer They are usually differentiated according to the type, within them we can find the following:
- Box Thermometer: Used to measure temperature
- Hygrometer: It is responsible for measuring the humidity contained in the atmosphere.
- Adjustment Button: Adjusts the trackball and level
- Convex Mirror: Also used to measure temperature
- Command Sphere and Level: Indicates the degree of atmospheric pressure.
PREMIUM QUALITY
Currently there are at least four types and some other measurement elements that come from the barometer, in some types we can find the following:
Mercury Barometer
It was the first barometer devised by Torricelli, this was a glass tube 850 centimeters long that contained mercury and when rotated it rose through the tube giving the desired result. Currently, the use of this type of element is not recommended since mercury is a very heavy and dangerous metal.
Aneroid Barometer
It is formed by a metallic box that is empty, it does not use mercury and the result is indicated by the elastic walls of the box, since it suffers more or less considerable deformations that are the sample of the results, however, this is not very accurate.
Barometer Altimeter
This barometer is especially used in aeronautics, because it serves to give indications to the pilot of what height he can be above sea level and this instrument can measure in feet or meters.
Fort Barometer
This class is made up of a mercury tube that is located in a glass tube, everything is supported by a uniform system that due to its slots and thermometer, the results it gives are very accurate.
That is why this type of barometer is used in scientific laboratories that are recognized and very demanding with the materials they use for experimentation, they use it mainly for high-precision measurements.
Goethe's Barometer
It is a type of glass container which is filled with liquid with dye (to be able to distinguish it better) and the measurement of the liquid is observed in which the pressure of the atmosphere can be measured, however it must be taken into account that This type of instrument is not very accurate.
digital barometer
The digital barometer comes with a humidity analyzer and is used to measure the atmospheric pressure of a specific place, this allows people to ensure that they have control over the temperature and pressure of the place where they are, this works very Simple and depending on the brand and quality of the instrument it will work better, but they are usually very precise.
Among the devices derived from barometers we can find the following:
- Barograph: It is a variant of the barometer, it is used to measure the pressure of the atmosphere and specify its variations on a sheet of paper.
- blood pressure monitor: It is used by doctors to measure blood pressure in patients, it is also known as a sphygmomanometer.
- Pressure gauge: It is an instrument used to measure the pressure of fluids contained in closed containers, there are two types of manometers, one of them can be to measure the pressure of fluids and the other to measure gases. The difference that exists between the manometer and barometer is that the first measures the pressure in a closed space or container and the second measures the pressure in an open space or container.
- vacuum gauge: It is responsible for measuring pressures below atmospheric pressure with great precision, that is, it measures a vacuum in spaces and is used in different branches of daily life, especially in industry as a field of scientific and technical research. .