What is gauge pressure and atmospheric pressure?
Michael Henderson
Published Mar 15, 2026
What is gauge pressure and atmospheric pressure?
Gauge pressure, also called overpressure, is the pressure of a system above atmospheric pressure. Gauge pressure is zero-referenced against ambient air (or atmospheric) pressure, so gauge pressure readings include the pressure from the weight of the atmosphere.
Is gauge pressure less than atmospheric pressure?
Gauge pressure is measured in relation to ambient atmospheric pressure. A gauge pressure higher than ambient pressure is referred to as positive pressure. If the measured pressure is below atmospheric pressure it is called negative or vacuum gauge pressure.
How do you calculate gauge pressure from atmospheric pressure?
Gage pressure is indicated by pg, and is related to absolute pressure as follows: pg = p – pa, where pa is the local atmospheric pressure. Example: A car tire gauge measures a tire pressure of 32.0 psi. The local atmospheric pressure is 14.2 psi.
What is gauge pressure used for?
A gauge is often used to measure the pressure difference between a system and its surrounding atmosphere. Gauge pressure is considered the most useful pressure measurement for many practical applications.
What means gauge pressure?
: the pressure at a point in a fluid above that of the atmosphere — compare absolute pressure.
Why is it called gauge pressure?
In brief, it is very common for pressure gauges to ignore atmospheric pressure—that is, to read zero at atmospheric pressure. We therefore define gauge pressure to be the pressure relative to atmospheric pressure. Gauge pressure is positive for pressures above atmospheric pressure, and negative for pressures below it.
What is the atmospheric pressure of the air?
1,013.25 mbar
Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as 101,325 Pa (1,013.25 hPa; 1,013.25 mbar), which is equivalent to 760 mm Hg, 29.9212 inches Hg, or 14.696 psi.
What is gauge pressure formula?
The gauge pressure is Pg = hρg and is found by measuring h. Figure 2. An open-tube manometer has one side open to the atmosphere. (a) Fluid depth must be the same on both sides, or the pressure each side exerts at the bottom will be unequal and there will be flow from the deeper side.
What is the standard atmospheric pressure?
about 14.7 pounds per square inch
atmosphere (atm) (atm) unit of measurement equal to air pressure at sea level, about 14.7 pounds per square inch. Also called standard atmospheric pressure.
What is the 1 atmosphere pressure?
One standard atmosphere, which is also referred to as one atmosphere, is equivalent to 101,325 pascals, or newtons of force per square metre (approximately 14.7 pounds per square inch). See also millibar.
What is atmospheric pressure in kPa?
101.325 kPa
For example, standard atmospheric pressure (or 1 atm) is defined as 101.325 kPa. The millibar, a unit of air pressure often used in meteorology, is equal to 0.1 kPa. (For comparison, one pound per square inch equals 6.895 kPa.)
What is called gauge?
gauge Add to list Share. The verb gauge means to estimate or measure, while the noun gauge is a tool you can use to make such a measurement. If you’ve ever seen someone check the air pressure in a tire, the instrument she used was called a tire gauge.