Enter the altitude, pressure at sea level, and temperature at sea level into the calculator to determine the pressure at a given altitude. This calculator uses the barometric formula to estimate atmospheric pressure at different heights.
Barometric Formula
The following formula is used to calculate the atmospheric pressure at a given altitude:
P = P0 * (1 + (L * h) / T0)^{((-g * M) / (R * L))}Variables:
- P is the pressure at altitude (Pascals)
- P0 is the pressure at sea level (Pascals)
- L is the temperature lapse rate (K/m)
- h is the altitude (meters)
- T0 is the temperature at sea level (Kelvin)
- g is the Earth-surface gravitational acceleration (m/s^2)
- M is the molar mass of Earth’s air (kg/mol)
- R is the universal gas constant (J/(mol·K))
To calculate the atmospheric pressure at a given altitude, input the pressure at sea level, the temperature at sea level, and the altitude into the formula above.
What is the Barometric Formula?
The barometric formula is an equation that describes the distribution of atmospheric pressure at various heights above sea level. It takes into account the temperature lapse rate, which is the rate at which atmospheric temperature decreases with an increase in altitude. The formula is used in meteorology and aviation to estimate atmospheric conditions at different altitudes.
How to Calculate Pressure at Altitude?
The following steps outline how to calculate the atmospheric pressure at a given altitude:
- First, determine the pressure at sea level (P0) in Pascals.
- Next, determine the temperature at sea level (T0) in Kelvin.
- Next, determine the altitude (h) in meters.
- Use the barometric formula to calculate the pressure at altitude (P).
- After inserting the variables and calculating the result, check your answer with the calculator above.
Example Problem:
Use the following variables as an example problem to test your knowledge.
pressure at sea level (P0) = 101325 Pascals
temperature at sea level (T0) = 288.15 Kelvin
altitude (h) = 1000 meters
