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Question
Describe the construction and working of mercury barometer.
Solution
The instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure is called barometer. A mercury barometer, first designed by an Italian Physicist Torricelli, consists of a long glass tube (closed at one end, open at the other) filled with mercury and turned upside down into a container of mercury. This is done by closing the open end of the mercury filled tube with the thumb and then opening it after immersing it in to a trough of mercury. The barometer works by balancing the mercury in the glass tube against the outside air pressure.
If the air pressure increases, it pushes more of the mercury up into the tub and if the air pressure decreases, more of the mercury drains from the tube. As there is no air trapped in the space between mercury and the closed end, there is vacuum in that space. Vacuum cannot exert any pressure. So the level of mercury in the tube provides a precise measure of air pressure which is called atmospheric pressure. This type of instrument can be used in a lab or weather station.
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