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How is mmHg calculated?

Published in Pressure Measurement 1 min read

mmHg, or millimeters of mercury, is a unit of pressure. It's fundamentally defined by the pressure exerted by a column of mercury of a specific height.

Here's a breakdown of how mmHg is calculated and related to other pressure units:

  • Definition: One mmHg is the pressure exerted by a 1mm vertical column of mercury at 0 degrees Celsius.

  • Relationship to Torr: One mmHg is also equal to 1 torr.

  • Relationship to Atmospheric Pressure (atm): Standard atmospheric pressure (1 atm) is equal to 760 mmHg. Therefore:

    1 atm = 760 mmHg

Essentially, mmHg serves as a direct measure of pressure based on a physical standard (the height of a mercury column) and can be converted to other pressure units using the relationship with atmospheric pressure.

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