🌬️ ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE
PAGE 1 OF 5, THE OCEAN OF AIR
WEIGHT OF THE SKY
LIVING AT THE BOTTOM OF AN AIR OCEAN
Earth is wrapped in a thick blanket of air many kilometres high. That air has mass, and gravity pulls it downward. The result is atmospheric pressure: a huge force pressing on every surface at sea level. Standard atmospheric pressure is about 101 kilopascals (kPa), roughly 101,000 newtons per square metre. That is like having about 10 tonnes of air pushing on every square metre of ground. You do not get crushed because the pressure pushes equally in all directions and the air inside your body balances the push from outside. We truly live at the bottom of an invisible ocean of air.
⚡ DID YOU KNOW?
At sea level, atmospheric pressure is about 101 kPa. Climb a high mountain and there is less air above you, so pressure drops. On Mount Everest the pressure is only about one third of sea level.
PRESS!
101 kPa
📊 ~101 kPa at sea level
⬇️ Gravity pulls air downward
⚖️ Pressure acts in every direction
⬇️ Gravity pulls air downward
⚖️ Pressure acts in every direction
INVISIBLE OCEAN
🌊 Kilometres of air above you
🏔️ Less air = lower pressure up high
🫁 Your lungs match outside pressure
🏔️ Less air = lower pressure up high
🫁 Your lungs match outside pressure