hypsometer

hyp·som·e·ter

H0371500 (hĭp-sŏm′ĭ-tər)n. An instrument using the atmospheric pressure as measured by the change in the boiling point of water to determine land elevations.

hypsometer

(hɪpˈsɒmɪtə) n1. (Physical Geography) an instrument for measuring altitudes by determining the boiling point of water at a given altitude2. (Surveying) any instrument used to calculate the heights of trees by triangulation

hypsometer

an instrument for measuring altitude by the relationship between atmospheric pressure and the boiling point of a liquid.See also: Heights, Instruments

Thesaurus

Noun

hypsometer - an altimeter that uses the boiling point of water to determine land elevationaltimeter - an instrument that measures the height above ground; used in navigation

Translations

ipsometro

Hypsometer

enUK

hypsometer

[hip′säm·əd·ər] (engineering) An instrument for measuring atmospheric pressure to ascertain elevations by determining the boiling point of liquids. Any of several instruments for determining tree heights by triangulation.

Hypsometer

an instrument for measuring atmospheric pressure by the boiling point of a liquid. A liquid begins to boil when its vapor pressure equals the external pressure; after measuring the temperature of the vapor of the boiling liquid, the atmospheric pressure is found from special tables.

A hypsometer consists of a special thermometer, from which the temperature may be read to 0.01°P, and a boiler that consists of a metal vessel containing distilled water and an extensible tube with double walls. The thermometer is put inside the tube and is bathed in the vapor of the boiling water. Hypsometers are made in which the thermometer scale divisions are units of pressure (mm of mercury, or millibars).

A hypsometer in which the liquid boils without artificial heating is used to measure pressure in the free atmosphere. The liquid used (Freon, carbon disulfide, and others) has a boiling point below the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere. Such a hypsometer usually consists of a Dewar flask containing the liquid and a miniature resistance thermometer.

A hypsometer is superior to an aneroid barometer, since it is free from errors caused by the elastic properties of the box’s membrane and by temperature; it has no mechanical transmission. However, because of its complexity it is used in radiosondes and under expedition conditions only when an aneroid barometer cannot offer the necessary accuracy of measurement.

REFERENCES

Sternzat, M. S. Meteorologicheskie pribory i nabliudeniia. Leningrad, 1968. Chapter 4.
Nepomniashchii, S. I. “Gipsometr dlia radiozondov.” Tr. Nau-chno-issledovatel’skogo in-ta gidrometeorologicheskogo priboro-stroeniia,1966, ISSUE 16, P. 25.

S. I. NEPOMNIASHCHII

hypsometer

hyp·som·e·ter

hypsometer

hypsometer

Hypsometer

hypsometer

Hypsometer

REFERENCES

hypsometer

Words related to hypsometer

noun an altimeter that uses the boiling point of water to determine land elevation

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