Science & Nature

Diamonds are available in a variety of shades, from colorless to deep blues or blacks. The brown-hued, or chocolate diamond, is gaining popularity in jewelry settings today.

Pressure is defined as the force with which the liquid contained in a tank presses on a unit area of the wall. The air pressure on the outside of the tank presses inward on the sidewall. Inside...

When you diagnose problems in a natural gas system, it is very useful to know the rate of gas flow, or the velocity of the gas in the pipes. Because natural gas requires a precise mix of oxygen to...

Water runs downhill. This is the basis for how the height of water towers provides pressure to your tap water. In ancient times, this was the basis for how fountains worked without motors. Each...

Pressure in the column of a fluid such as water is generated due to the gravity force. Calculation of that pressure has numerous applications, for example in meteorology or in the design of water...

Wind speed has been measured for centuries using classic devices like the anemometer. But wind pressure is slightly different and requires more advanced devices to monitor. Fortunately, the laws...

Synoptic means "view together" or "view at a common point". A synoptic weather map shows weather patterns over a large area by putting together many weather reports from different locations all...

A hydraulic system uses hydraulic fluid or tractor fluid to operate machinery. Pressure is exerted on the hydraulic fluid as it passes through small hoses. The force exerted by this pressure on...

A hydraulic lift is a type of machine that uses a hydraulic apparatus to lift or move objects using the force created when pressure is exerted on liquid in a piston. Force then produces "lift" and...

Reciprocating and centrifugal pumps serve different purposes and operate with separate functions. Centrifugal pumps transport huge amounts of liquid at a time, but the level at which the...

Discovered by Irish chemist Robert Boyle, Boyle's Gas Law describes the relationship between pressure and volume of gas at a consistent temperature.

Drip emitters are a common method of irrigation. The process requires piping with holes that allow water to escape into the soil in carefully measured amounts, seeping into the surrounding earth...

Pressure is defined as force applied per unit area. For a tank, the air pressure on the outside presses inward on the wall. Inside the tank, the air pressure presses down on the liquid. If the...

Cooler weather often means time for fires. It is easy to grab whatever wood you might have lying around and toss it into the fire, but that wood might not always be safe to burn. This is...

Slate is a metamorphic rock. Metamorphic rocks are rocks that change form from one type of rock into another because of time, pressure, heat and other factors. Diamonds are the most famous of...

If you are like most people, checking the weather is a daily routine. Will you have clear skies for your garden party? Could your tomato plants freeze tonight? Should you wear shorts or a sweater?...

There are a multitude of experiments that you can conduct to demonstrate the different principles that apply to the gaseous state of water. Nonetheless, there are at least three easy and...

Air has weight. The weight of air pressing down on the atmosphere and Earth's surface is air pressure. Air pressure is also known as barometric pressure, which is measured by barometers. Air...

A manometer may be any device that measures pressure, although most types of manometers have more specific names. When unqualified, the term "manometer" usually refers to a U-shaped tube filled...

Inside of an altimeter lies the same equipment found in barometers. They measure the amount of static air pressure exerted on the altimeter to determine the height above sea level. Static air...

Gas molecules in the atmosphere are constantly moving. The collisions of these molecules with each other and other objects cause air pressure. Barometers measure air pressure in the atmosphere, so...

The word "phonograph" comes originally from Thomas Edison, who invented the first practical version of what became the basis for the world's record players. Today record players (or turntables)...

Weather maps provide a variety of information on the weather. Some weather maps show cloud cover; some show wind direction and air pressure. Scientists use weather maps to display and analyze data...

Hydraulic rams are used in numerous applications ranging from steering systems in aircraft, cars and boats, to robots used in factories, in flight and undersea. Choosing the correct ram to use in...

All stars are, at some point of their existence, main sequence stars. The term refers to a star undergoing its main sequence phase, the longest and most stable period of its existence. Most of the...

Sound meters are used to record the power of sound waves that they detect. Although there are different kinds of sound meters, the most common kind are small, pocket-sized or handheld versions...

Although today the name bazooka is synonymous with any shoulder-held rocket launching device, the first bazooka was the U.S. Army's M1 Rocket Launcher. Introduced in World War II, soldiers using...

A vacuum can be described as either a volume devoid of matter, or a volume in which the pressure is significantly below that of atmospheric pressure. Since the former is only a philosophical...

Hydraulic systems are mechanical devices meant to exert large amounts of force. They can be operated in areas where motors may not be practical, and can exert very large forces without taking up...

The term water currents means sections of water moving in a single direction. The only force necessary to create a water current is a force that moves the water down a gradient. A difference in...

Measuring blood pressure is a part of a typical checkup. Patients who go to the doctor for any procedure routinely have their blood pressure taken. Blood pressure is a basic yet important part of...

A jack is a device meant to multiply a small force in order to enact a large force on an object. In principle, it works similarly to a mechanical advantage, such as a pulley. Jacks must have a...

When we wonder why air expands with heat, it's like asking why volume is a function of temperature. The answer is because heat in a gas is the random kinetic energy of the molecules. Pressure is...

Barometric pressure is caused by the weight of the air above a specific location. Air molecules have a mass, and so when gravity acts on the air molecules, they have weight. Barometric pressure...

Wind is simply the movement of the air that surrounds us. Air is classified as a fluid, and it flows as such. When it moves in any way, we call this movement wind. The faster the movement, the...

For hundreds of years, pitcher pumps have allowed people to extract water from underground wells with relatively little effort (compared to hauling buckets from a stream), expense (compared to...

The yield stress, measured in the units of pressure "psi," is a characteristic of a steel pipe. It represents a stress (pressure) at which the pipe undergoes the permanent deformation. SMYS stands...

A Co2 compressor is a device that is used to add air (and thus pressure) to a device. Common applications for Co2 compressors include air conditioning, adding pressure to tires and various other...

Weather instruments are used to give meteorologists information on the behavior of weather patterns and how they affect the atmosphere. They range from simple devices, such as thermometers and...

Gas pressure is the result of the collisions of gas molecules with a surface. In the case of a closed container, that surface is the walls of the container. A fundamental assumption of the...

Pneumatic refers to air, especially air used for a certain purpose. In machines, pneumatic systems use compressed gas to perform a variety of tasks. Some systems can take in and compress air from...

A gas turbine engine ejects air at a high velocity through a nozzle to generate thrust. To obtain that high velocity, the air typically passes through a diffuser, a compressor, a combustion...

As you sink deeper and deeper into a body of water, the amount of water pressing down on you increases. The lower you sink, the more pressure you experience. This relationship between pressure and...

Smooth, stable and stagnant air is a relatively rare phenomenon in the Earth's atmosphere. Some areas of air, which may be as large as several hundred miles or as small as a single county, are...

According to Dorland's Medical Dictionary (a reference sponsored by the pharmaceutical company Merck), the pulse is the manifestation of the beating of the heart that can be felt through the walls...

The pressure of any liquid is defined as force per a unit of area perpendicular to a plane. This can be measured in units such as pounds per square inch (psi). Water pressure is how much force the...

A manometer measures the difference in air or liquid pressure by comparing it to an outside source, usually a sample of Earth's atmosphere. There are several types of manometers, the simplest...

Water jet cutters (waterjets) are powerful industrial machines that use highly pressurized streams of water to help produce everything from disposable diapers, tissue paper and candy bars to...

You might have a number of reasons for wanting to know the atmospheric pressure, sometimes known as the barometric pressure. Atmospheric pressure is a key indicator for predicting the weather, it...

All vacuum cleaners operate on the same general physical principles, even though marketing would have you believe that not all vacuums suck the same. Most vacuum cleaners contain an intake port,...