Inch of mercury (inHg, ″Hg, or in) is a non- SI

unit of measurement A unit of measurement, or unit of measure, is a definite magnitude (mathematics), magnitude of a quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law, that is used as a standard for measurement of the same kind of quantity. Any other qua ...

for

pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and eve ...

. It is used for barometric pressure in weather reports,

refrigeration Refrigeration is any of various types of cooling of a space, substance, or system to lower and/or maintain its temperature below the ambient one (while the removed heat is ejected to a place of higher temperature).IIR International Dictionary of ...

and

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is the pressure exerted by a column of mercury in height at the standard acceleration of gravity. Conversion to metric units depends on the density of mercury, and hence its temperature; typical conversion factors are: In older literature, an "inch of mercury" is based on the height of a column of mercury at .Barry N. Taylor, ''Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI),'' 1995, NIST Special Publication 811, Appendix

/ref> :1 inHg_60 °F = In Imperial units: 1 inHg_60 °F = 0.489 771 Pounds per square inch, psi, or 2.041 771 inHg_60 °F = 1 psi.

Applications

Aircraft and automobiles

Aircraft altimeters measure the relative pressure difference between the lower ambient pressure at altitude and a calibrated reading on the ground. In North America and Japan, these altimeter readings are provided in inches of mercury, but most other nations use hectopascals. Ground readings vary with weather and along the route of the aircraft as it travels, so current readings are relayed periodically by air traffic control. Aircraft operating at higher altitudes (at or above what is called the transition altitude, which varies by country) set their barometric altimeters to a standard pressure of 29.92 inHg (1 atm = 29.92 inHg) or 1013.25 hPa (1 hPa = 1 mbar) regardless of the actual sea level pressure. The resulting altimeter readings are known as flight levels. Piston engine

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

with constant-speed propellers also use inches of mercury to measure manifold pressure, which is indicative of engine power produced in engines equipped with a

supercharger In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement (engine), displacement. It is a form of forced induction that is mechanically ...

or turbosupercharger (naturally aspirated engines measure manifold vacuum instead). In automobile racing, particularly United States Auto Club and Champ Car Indy car racing, inches of mercury was the unit used to measure turbocharger inlet pressure. However, the inch of mercury is still used today in car performance modification to measure the amount of vacuum or pressure within the engine's intake manifold. This can be seen on "boost gauges (forced induction) or vacuum gauges (natural induction), which give a rough indication of the relative power being produced at any given time.

Cooling systems

air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C (US) or air con (UK), is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior temperature, and in some cases, also controlling the humidity of internal air. Air c ...

and refrigeration, inHg is often used to describe "inches of mercury vacuum", or pressures below ambient atmospheric pressure, for recovery of refrigerants from air conditioning and refrigeration systems, as well as for leak testing of systems while under a vacuum, and for dehydration of refrigeration systems. The low-side gauge in a refrigeration gauge manifold indicates pressures below ambient in "inches of mercury vacuum" (inHg), down to a 30 inHg vacuum. Inches of mercury is also used in automotive cooling system vacuum test and fill tools. A technician will use this tool to remove air from modern automotive cooling systems, test the system's ability to hold vacuum, and subsequently refill using the vacuum as suction for the new coolant. Typical minimum vacuum values are between 22 and 27 inHg.

Vacuum brakes

Inches of mercury was the usual unit of pressure measurement in railway vacuum brakes.

References

{{United States Customary Units Units of pressure Mercury (element) Customary units of measurement in the United States

Applications

Aircraft and automobiles

Cooling systems

Vacuum brakes

See also

References