What is Air Pressure?
Right now, as you are reading this, there are tons of air pushing down on you. That is air pressure. As you might know, the Earth is covered with a blanket of gases. That is called the atmosphere. The air from the atmosphere takes up space, so it has mass (weight). The more atmosphere above you, the more the air pressure. There is actually 14.7 pounds per square inch of your body pushing down on you right now!! That means that your whole body is having about 7 tons of air pushing down on you! You can’t really feel the air pressure because your body is pushing outward, the opposite direction of the air pressure. There is actually a way to see air pressure in action.
Fun Demonstration
Matrerials
soda can (empty)
water
hot plate or some sort of heat source (ADULT SUPERVISION REQUIRED)
ice water
aluminum tray
Directions: Take the soda can and put the normal water in (halfway). Next, put the soda can on a hot plate or a stove (ADULT SUPERVISION) and wait until the water starts to boil. Then, using tongs or gloves, take the soda bottle off the heat source out it inside of the aluminum tray. Fill the aluminum tray with cold water quickly and see what happens. Share your results with us by going to spectacularsci.com/contact. (HINT: There is air pressure involved with this experiment.)