A barometer is a device that measures atmospheric pressure.
Barometer is an indicator or estimate about a certain state or condition. For example: “The reading barometer shows that, in our country, the favorite books belong to the self-help genre,” “The European Union has presented a barometer on the consumption habits of adolescents,” “The government denied the barometer .” about people living on the streets .
A monthly periodicity is what these aforementioned barometers or estimates usually have, which, for example, are carried out by the Center for Sociological Research ( CIS ) of Spain . Specifically, these studies are undertaken to know the state of opinion of the society of said country on a specific issue or topic.
barometer indicator
More precisely, they are based on a block of fixed-type questions that are used by said organization to develop the so-called barometer indicators . However, there is also another set of variable class questions that usually refer to social or political issues.
Thus, for example, it is very common for these barometers to be carried out some time before the national elections take place to estimate what the result of the elections will be and what percentage of citizens plan to go to the polls to participate in this democratic process. so important.
pressure measurement
Barometer, on the other hand, is a device used to measure the pressure of the atmosphere . This means that the barometer calculates the weight exerted by the atmosphere per unit area.
There are different types of barometers, such as the mercury barometer, which indicates the atmospheric pressure of a gaseous matter according to the differences in the level of two vessels that contain mercury and that are interconnected.
A metal barometer is one formed by a metal container whose walls are characterized by their elasticity. The shape of this container is modified according to changes in atmospheric pressure from the extraction of air. This modification, for its part, is amplified through a needle that indicates the pressure that exists. The holosteric barometer and the aneroid barometer are other types of metallic barometers.
In this sense, it must be established that it is very important to know that metal ones have the capacity to be much less sensitive than mercury ones, but on the other hand they are much more easily transportable and also much more practical. Specifically, we can determine that one of the most used is the holosteric one.
There is also the recording barometer , which is one that records, in a cylinder that rotates automatically, changes in atmospheric pressure.
There are different types of barometer.
Historical evolution of the barometer
The mathematician and physicist Evangelista Torricelli was the first to develop different types of barometers during the 17th century . The first barometers consisted of a column of liquid that was enclosed in a tube, the upper part of which remained closed. The weight of this column of liquid managed to balance exactly with the weight of the atmosphere.
However, we can also highlight the existence of other relevant barometers, such as the one made by Fortin . This is characterized because, although it is based on the one designed by the aforementioned Torricelli , it is much more perfected.