aneroid barometer
- 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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Compare mercury barometer.
Origin of aneroid barometer
First recorded in 1840–50
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for aneroid barometer
Historical Examples
We found at the station an Aneroid-barometer, and a thermometer.
Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara, Volume IKarl Ritter von Scherzer
aneroid barometer
- 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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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
aneroid barometer
[ăn′ə-roid′]
- 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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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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