Wrist Watches With Altimeters - How Can They Work?

Timepieces with altimeters are basically sports wrist watches with barometers

. They correlate the information that a barometer provides us through an approximation of elevation above sea level.

In the event you adjust the unit and set it into the nearby terrain, then you can get a reading that's very accurate for the purposes many people utilize these wrist watches with altimeters with regard to. Plus or minus 3 ft, or one meter is about what to expect.

This is how a classic mercury barometer functions:

* A vacuum is created in a tube - really just a small area of vacuum at the top of the tube. Just enough air is evacuated from this area.

* The tube is set in a bath of mercury - mercury is used because of its chemical properties and weights in relation to air.

* The mercury responds to the changes in atmospheric pressure - as atmospheric pressure presses down on the ambient fluid mercury, the column of mercury inside the tube rises.

* A read out is available on the tube that indicates atmospheric pressure, or barometric pressure - graduating the outside of the tube will allow you to read the level of pressure. This is standard and is measured in inches of mercury.

Now, when we are talking about a digital watch, obviously we can't install a mercury column inside. So, we rely on the digital equivalent of the classic mercury barometer which is called the aneroid Barometer. When aneroid barometer were not going to get the accuracy that we work with a classic mercury barometer, but the payoff is we can house up in lot smaller frame, suitable for a watch.

Altimeters used in watches use aneroid barometers though because their need for a small scale device. Aneroid barometers are not quite as accurate as the old fashioned mercury barometers that meteorologists favor.

The aneroid version measures electrical charges to interpret air pressure in your watch's altimeter function. This is the only way you can reasonably have a device inside a housing the small. Although we do pay some price in terms of accuracy, on a broader scale gives us access to the information which is infinitely more important than the slight inaccuracy we have to suffer.

Watches with altimeters are a great thing to have along when you are outdoors. Being able to predict weather changes is a terrific thing to be able to do when you are exposed to the elements. Knowing what weather is coming is really a huge boost to your safety.

by: Roger Brown

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