Pressure Converters

Pressure is force distributed over an area — the perpendicular push a fluid or solid exerts on each square unit of surface it contacts. The SI unit is the pascal (Pa), defined as one newton per square meter. Because atmospheric pressure is approximately 101,325 Pa, different fields adopt more convenient units: meteorologists use the millibar (mbar) or hectopascal (hPa); engineers use the bar or pound per square inch (psi); physicians measure blood pressure in millimeters of mercury (mmHg); and vacuum scientists work in torr. Every 10 meters of seawater depth adds roughly 1 bar of pressure. Despite this diversity, all pressure units are interconvertible — 1 standard atmosphere equals exactly 101,325 Pa, 1.01325 bar, and 760 torr, or approximately 14.696 psi and 760 mmHg.