How to make a liquid barometer...

This video will show you how to construct a barometer using isopropyl alcohol.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• barometer
• liquid
• alcohol
• weather
• forecasting
• gary
• booker
• atmospheric
• pressure
• meteorology
• instruments

[zetreque]

cool vid. Thanks for posting, but I was thinking, doesn't alcohol evaporate kinda fast that would screw up your day to day readings? I understand it's just a simple home made design but I assume you would have to figure out the evaporation rate (with varying temps and humidity) to makeup the alcohol each time you do a reading?

[garybooker]

@zetreque Very good point. You'd probably want to use a different liquid during the spring and summer months. A lot of barometers using the same design use water, which can freeze at extreme winter temperatures.

[garvess]

Is there a simple explanation of how this works?

[garybooker]

Bernoulli's principle.  As the variation of pressure changes push down on the surface of the liquid, it pushes liquid up the straw.

I use Isopropyl alcohol because it has a low freezing point, which would make any barometer with Isopropyl alcohol reliable in cold temperatures.

[TAVBaltWashChapter]

Brother Man!!! That's What's Up!!!

[garybooker]

Thank you so much! :)

[computergeek123ism]

I like the balloon ones better. Their a lot simpler.

[grreeknick]

I'd avoid using clay. It has no expansion capability and may well come apart in the fumes of the evaporating alcohol. It appeared, when you placed the straw into the bottle, that you lost vacuum on the straw.

Use chewing gum instead or better yet silicone, you will get a better seal over longer term.

[2008BOBAN2008]

Wow!

Its Mc Eiht ? watch 2:01

Cool vid cuzz

[imparatel]

nice!!!! Cool and easy!

[jendlove]

very helpful! thanks!

[x2malandy]

5 minutes is a long time to sit and stare at this laptop, It was worth it though, pretty cool stuff.

[goliguy]

and just for those idiots who dont know wat a miniscs is, its the curved part of the wat on top

[SodenFroden]

MM..cool experiment, but does really works? i mean, it must be some vacuum into the tube, if not, the pression of that lil quantity of air don't let goes up or down the liquid...maybe i'm wrong.

[zetreque]

Have you tried water? It sounds like water doesn't expand/contract enough to show a reading unless your barometer is huge. I look forward to trying to make a weather glass barometer style.