partial pressure

American  

noun

Physics, Chemistry.

1. the pressure that a gas in a mixture of gases would exert if it occupied the same volume as the mixture at the same temperature.

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partial pressure British  

noun

1. the pressure that a gas, in a mixture of gases, would exert if it alone occupied the whole volume occupied by the mixture

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Etymology

Origin of partial pressure

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

Once the MOF is filled with CO2, the CO2 can be removed, or desorbed, by lowering the partial pressure of CO2, either by flushing with a different gas or putting it in a vacuum.

From Science Daily • Nov. 14, 2024

The concentration of a gaseous solute in a solution is proportional to the partial pressure of the gas to which the solution is exposed, a relation known as Henry’s law.

From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019

Relative humidity is related to the partial pressure of water vapor in the air.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

Thus water evaporates and ice sublimates when their vapor pressures exceed the partial pressure of water vapor in the surrounding mixture of gases.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

The second characteristic is most important, and depends on the phenomena of "partial pressure," which have been referred to in Chapter VI.

From Acetylene, the Principles of Its Generation and Use A Practical Handbook on the Production, Purification, and Subsequent Treatment of Acetylene for the Development of Light, Heat, and Power by Leeds, F. H. (Frank Henley)