aneroid barometer

American  

noun

1. a device for measuring atmospheric pressure, often specially calibrated for use as an altimeter, consisting of a box or chamber partially exhausted of air, having an elastic top and a pointer to indicate the degree of compression of the top caused by the external air.

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aneroid barometer British  

noun

1. a device for measuring atmospheric pressure without the use of fluids. It consists of a partially evacuated metal chamber, the thin corrugated lid of which is displaced by variations in the external air pressure. This displacement is magnified by levers and made to operate a pointer

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aneroid barometer Scientific  

/ ăn′ə-roid′ /

1. A barometer consisting of a thin elastic disk covering a chamber that contains a partial vacuum. High atmospheric pressure pushes against the disk and causes it to bulge inward, while low pressure does not push as hard, allowing the disk to bulge outward. An aneroid barometer is smaller and more portable than a mercury barometer and, when used with a barograph, can record up to a week's worth of data. Aneroid barometers are used extensively in aviation as part of altimeters.

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Etymology

Origin of aneroid barometer

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

aneroid barometer

Trekking to a mountain top, he used an aneroid barometer to help him calculate its height.

From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2013

Pity that I had no aneroid barometer for ascertaining the elevation of that site.

From Byeways in Palestine by Finn, James

Figure 16.—Richard's registering aneroid barometer, an instrument used at the U.S.

From The Introduction of Self-Registering Meteorological Instruments by Multhauf, Robert P.

An aneroid barometer is also of great assistance, especially in mist, for a knowledge of the altitude often enables a lake or a peak to be identified.

From Climbing in The British Isles, Vol. II Wales and Ireland by Hart, H. C.

The aneroid barometer does not use a column of air in the same way as the old instrument.

From A Budget of Paradoxes, Volume II by Smith, David Eugene