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

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

From BBC • Nov. 13, 2013

The familiar aneroid barometer furnishes a hint for another convenient form of small steam-engine.

From Twentieth Century Inventions A Forecast by Sutherland, George

It should be understood that the aneroid barometer is not an independent instrument; it is merely a device for representing the movements of the mercurial barometer.

From Scientific American, Volume 40, No. 13, March 29, 1879 A Weekly Journal of Practical Information, Art, Science, Mechanics, Chemistry, and Manufactures by Various

The atmospheric pressure by the aneroid barometer was at 29.83.

From My Attainment of the Pole by Cook, Frederick A.

To compare the readings of an aneroid barometer with those of a mercurial barometer, up to five miles.

From Up in the Clouds Balloon Voyages by Ballantyne, R. M. (Robert Michael)