Lab no.
02:
Determining barometric pressure at the basement, ground floor and top floor of mining engineering
department using aneroid barometer.
Apparatus:
Aneroid Barometer
Altimeter
Historical background:
Many people do not realize that atmospheric pressure exists since it cannot be felt. Its existence was
discovered by the Italian scientist Evangelista Torricelli. Torricelli made his discovery during an attempt
to help silver miners, who were having trouble keeping their mines dry. The only pump available to the
miners were suction pumps, which could only raise water 32 ft (9.8 m). Torricelli deduced the reason the
pump could not raise water more than that was because the weight of the atmosphere was only heavy
enough to support a column of water 32 ft (9.8 m) high. Torricelli's insight was that if a see-saw were
arranged such that half of it was under a vacuum and half of it was under atmospheric pressure, 32 ft (9.8
m) of water would have to be placed on the vacuum side of the see-saw to balance the atmospheric pressure
acting on the other side. The miners' pumps were like a seesaw trying to balance more than 32 ft (9.8 m) of
water. In 1844 French scientist Lucien Vidi invented aneroid barometer which can measure atmospheric
pressure without using any liquid.
Explanation:
Barometer:
Barometer, device used to measure atmospheric pressure. Because atmospheric pressure changes with
distance above or below sea level, a barometer can also be used to measure altitude.
Types of barometer:
There are two main types of Barometer
1. Mercury barometer:
In the mercury barometer, atmospheric pressure balances a column of mercury, the height of which
can be precisely measured. To increase their accuracy, mercury barometers are often corrected for
ambient temperature and the local value of gravity. Common pressure units include pounds per square
inch, dynes per square centimeter, newtons per square meter.
Figure 1: Mercury Barometer
2. Aneroid barometer:
It is a pressure measuring instrument that does not any type of fluid. In aneroid barometer, a small change
in atmospheric pressure causes the aneroid cell to contract or expand. Due to this contraction and expansion,
a mechanical phenomenon occurs which displays the measurements on the barometric scale. Atmospheric
pressure is also known as Barometric pressure.
Figure 2: Aneroid Barometer
Working principle:
The aneroid barometer is operated by a metal cell containing only a very small amount of air, or a series
of such cells joined together. The increased air pressure causes the sides of the cell or cells to come closer
together. One side is fixed to the base of the instrument while the other is connected by means of a system
of levers and pulleys to a rotating pointer that moves over a scale on the face of the instrument. This
pointer is usually black.
The aneroid barometer (below) consists of a closed sealed capsule with flexible sides. Any change in
pressure alters the thickness of the capsule. When the atmospheric pressure increases, the cell gets
compressed and the inward movement of the cell wall is transmitted to the pointer mechanically and it
then registers a higher reading on the scale.
Merits and demerits of aneroid barometer:
Merits:
1) No liquid
2) easily portable
3) Low weight
4) Adaptable to recording
Demerits:
1) less precise or accurate than mercury barometer
2) needs frequent calibration
Altimeter:
An altimeter or an altitude meter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed
level. The measurement of altitude is called altimetry, which is related to the term bathymetry, the
measurement of depth under water.
Figure 3: Altimeter
Types of altimeter:
I. Pressure altimeter:
The pressure altimeter operates on the principle that average atmospheric pressure decreases linearly with
altitude. A typical pressure altimeter is illustrated in the figure. The instrument is enclosed in a case that is
connected to the outside of the aircraft by an air pressure inlet at the rear of the housing. Two or more
aneroid capsules i.e., thin corrugated metallic bellows from which air has been exhausted are positioned
near the inlet. These capsules expand when the outside air pressure falls (as in climbing) and contract
when the outside air pressure rises (as in descending).
II. Radio altimeter:
The radio altimeter measures the distance of an aircraft above the ground rather than above sea level. The
altitude is equal to one-half the time that it takes a pulse of radio energy to travel from the aircraft to the
ground and back multiplied by the speed of the pulse (equivalent to the speed of light). The measured
altitude is displayed on a video screen. Radio altimeters are used in automatic navigation and blind-landing
systems. The radio altimeter measures the distance of an aircraft above the ground rather than above sea
level.
How to adjust and reads the aneroid barometer:
On an aneroid barometer, you’ll have two hands. One will show the barometric pressure reading, and the
other is a manual dial that you align to the pressure reading whenever you take a measurement. The
purpose of the manual hand is so that you can quickly and easily see which direction the needle has
moved, and how far, between readings. you need to manually calibrate it. All this means is using a small
screwdriver to set the hand (like on a clock) to match the current barometric pressure in your location.
Calculations:
As we know that as we move towards altitude, atmospheric pressure decreases and as we move
downward the atmospheric pressure increases. There is a minor difference in readings at basement,
ground floor and top floor.
Aneroid Barometric readings recorded are as under:
In basement atmospheric pressure = 984 hpa
At first floor atmospheric pressure = 983.5 hpa
At top floor atmospheric pressure = 983 hpa
The main purpose of this lab is to measure the atmospheric pressure and convert them into seven different
units
Conversions of hpa into different units are as under:
1. 1hpa = 0.014503 psi
Basement Ground floor Top floor
984 hpa = 14.27095 psi 983.5 hpa = 14.26370 psi 983 hpa = 14.25644 psi
2. 1hpa = 2.09 psf
Basement Ground floor Top floor
984 hpa = 2056.56 psf 983.5 hpa = 2055.515 psf 983 hpa = 2054.47 psf
3. 1 hpa = 100 pa
Basement Ground floor Top floor
984 hpa = 98400 Pa 983.5 hpa = 98350 Pa 983 hpa = 98300 Pa
4. 1 hpa = 1 hpa = 9.86923× 10-4 atm
Basement Ground floor Top floor
984 hpa = 9711.322 atm 983.5 hpa = 9706.388 atm 983 hpa = 9701. 4530 atm
5. 1 hpa = 0.75006 mm Hg
Basement Ground floor Top floor
984 hpa = 738.059 mm Hg 983.5 hpa = 737.684 mm Hg 983 hpa = 737.308 mm Hg
6. 1 hpa = 0.02952 in. Hg
Basement Ground floor Top floor
984 hpa = 29.047 in. Hg 983.5 hpa = 29. 033 in. Hg 983 hpa = 29.08 in Hg
7. 1 hpa = 0.40146 inches of water
Basement Ground floor Top floor
984 hpa = 395.037 in. of water 983.5 hpa = 394.836 in. of water 983 hpa = 394. 635 in. of water
Precautions:
Place the Barometer carefully on the surface while measuring the pressure.
Wait 2-3 minutes after placing the Barometer on the surface and let the pointer be stable to measure
accurate readings.
Conclusion:
After performing this experiment, we concluded that atmospheric pressure decreases at heights and
increases as we move downward. Also, we concluded that how to read the barometer and how to convert
the readings into different units.
References:
https://www.topperlearning.com/answer/how-does-the-aneroid-barometer-work-what-is-its-
construction/24g113dd
https://sciencing.com/do-aneroid-barometers-work-7146227.html
https://www.petropedia.com/definition/4545/aneroid-barometer
https://www.britannica.com/technology/aneroid-barometer
