What is atmospheric pressure?
Answer
Atmospheric pressure is the pressure exerted by the weight of the air column in the atmosphere on any surface, about 1.013 × 10⁵ Pa at sea level.
The working
Definition
Atmospheric pressure is the force exerted by the weight of the air above a unit area of the Earth's surface.
Standard value
At sea level it is nearly 1.013 × 10⁵ Pa, also written as 1 atm or 760 mm of mercury.
Measurement
It is measured using a mercury barometer, first devised by Torricelli, where the height of the mercury column balances the atmospheric pressure.
Variation
Atmospheric pressure decreases with altitude because the height and weight of the overlying air column reduce as you go higher.
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