Torr

1
The torr (symbol: Torr) is a unit of pressure based on an absolut e scale, defined as exact ly 760 of a st andard
101325
at mosphere (101325 Pa). Thus one t orr is exact ly 760
pascals (≈ 133.32 Pa).

Hist orically, one t orr was int ended t o be t he same as one "millimet er of mercury", but subsequent redefinit ions
of t he t wo unit s made t hem slight ly different (by less t han 0.000015%). The t orr is not part of t he Int ernat ional
Syst em of Unit s (SI). Even so, it is oft en combined wit h t he met ric prefix milli t o name one millitorr (mTorr) or
0.001 Torr.

The unit was named aft er Evangelist a Torricelli, an It alian physicist and mat hemat ician who discovered t he
principle of t he baromet er in 1644.[1]

Nomenclature and common

errors
The unit name torr is writ t en in lower case, while it s symbol ("Torr") is always writ t en wit h an uppercase init ial;
including in combinat ions wit h prefixes and ot her unit symbols, as in "mTorr" (millit orr) or "Torr⋅L/s" (t orr-lit res per
second).[2] The symbol (uppercase) should be used wit h prefix symbols (t hus, mTorr and millit orr are correct , but
mt orr and milliTorr are not ).

The t orr is somet imes incorrect ly denot ed by t he symbol "T", which is t he SI symbol for t he t esla, t he unit
measuring t he st rengt h of a magnet ic field. Alt hough frequent ly encount ered, t he alt ernat ive spelling "Tor" is
incorrect .
History torr

Unit of pressure
Torricelli at t ract ed considerable at t ent ion when he
demonst rat ed t he first mercury baromet er t o t he general
public. He is credit ed wit h giving t he first modern explanat ion
Symbol Torr
of at mospheric pressure. Scient ist s at t he t ime were familiar
wit h small fluct uat ions in height t hat occurred in baromet ers. Named Evangelista
When t hese fluct uat ions were explained as a manifest at ion of
changes in at mospheric pressure, t he science of met eorology after Torricelli
was born.

1
Definition
760 atm
Over t ime, 760 millimet ers of mercury at 0 °C came t o be
regarded as t he st andard at mospheric pressure. In honour of
Torricelli, t he t orr was defined as a unit of pressure equal t o
one millimet er of mercury at 0 °C. However, since t he Conversions
accelerat ion due t o gravit y – and t hus t he weight of a column
of mercury – is a funct ion of elevat ion and lat it ude (due t o
t he rot at ion and non-sphericit y of t he Eart h), t his definit ion is
1 Torr in ... is
imprecise and varies by locat ion.
... equal to
In 1954, t he definit ion of t he atmosphere was revised by t he
10t h General Conference on Weight s and Measures[3] t o t he ...
current ly accept ed definit ion: one at mosphere is equal t o
1
101325 pascals. The t orr was t hen redefined as 760 of one
at mosphere. This yields a precise definit ion t hat is
SI 133.3224 P
unambiguous and independent of measurement s of t he
densit y of mercury or t he accelerat ion due t o gravit y on Eart h.
derived
units
Manometric units British Gravitationa
of pressure
Manometric units are unit s such as millimeters of mercury or centimeters of water t hat depend on an assumed
densit y of a fluid and an assumed accelerat ion due t o gravit y. The use of t hese unit s is discouraged.[4]
Nevert heless, manomet ric unit s are rout inely used in medicine and physiology, and t hey cont inue t o be used in
areas as diverse as weat her report ing and scuba diving.

Conversion factors
The millimet er of mercury by definit ion is 133.322387415 Pa[5] (13.5951 g/cm3 × 9.80665 m/s2 × 1 mm), which is
approximat ed wit h known accuracies of densit y of mercury and st andard gravit y.

1
The t orr is defined as 760 of one st andard at mosphere, while t he at mosphere is defined as 101325 pascals.
101325
Therefore, 1 Torr is equal t o 760 Pa. The decimal form of t his fract ion (133.322 368 421 052 631 578 947) is
an infinit ely long, periodically repeat ing decimal (repet end lengt h: 18).

The relat ionship bet ween t he t orr and t he millimet er of mercury is:

1 Torr = 0.999 999 857 533 699 ... mmHg

1 mmHg = 1.000 000 142 466 321 ... Torr
The difference bet ween one millimet er of mercury and one t orr, as well as bet ween one at mosphere
(101.325 kPa) and 760 mmHg (101.3250144354 kPa), is less t han one part in seven million (or less t han
0.000015%). This small difference is negligible for all pract ical purposes.

In t he European Union, t he millimet er of mercury is defined as[6]

1 mmHg = 133.322 Pa
hence

1 Torr = 1.000 002 763 ... mmHg

1 mmHg = 0.999 997 236 ... Torr
Ot her unit s of pressure include:

The bar (symbol: bar), defined as 100 kPa

exactly.
 The atmosphere (symbol: atm), defined as
101.325 kPa exactly.
These four pressure unit s are used in different set t ings. For example, t he bar is used in met eorology t o report
at mospheric pressures.[7] The t orr is used in high-vacuum physics and engineering.[8][9]

Pressure unit s

Technical Standard Pound per square

Pascal Bar Torr
v·t·e atmosphere atmosphere inch

(Pa) (bar) (at) (atm) (Torr) (lbf/in2)

1 Pa = 1 Pa = 1 Pa =
1 Pa = 10−5 −5
1 Pa = −3
1 Pa — 1.0197 × 10 7.5006 × 10 0.000 145 037 737 730
bar 9.8692 × 10−6 at m
at Torr lbf/in2

1 bar 105 — = 1.0197 = 0.986 92 = 750.06 = 14.503 773 773 022

1 at 98 066.5 0.980 665 — 0.967 841 105 3541 735.559 2401 14.223 343 307 1203

1 atm ≡ 101 325 ≡ 1.013 25 1.0332 — 760 14.695 948 775 5142
1
760 ≈
1 Torr 133.322 368 421 0.001 333 224 0.001 359 51 — 0.019 336 775
0.001 315 789

1 lbf/in2 6 894.757 293 168 0.068 947 573 0.070 306 958 0.068 045 964 51.714 932 572 —

See also

Atmosphere (unit)
Centimetre of water
Conversion of units
Inch of mercury
 Outline of the metric system
Pascal (unit)
Pressure head
Pressure

References

1. Devices similar to the modern barometer, using

water instead of mercury, were studied by a
number of scientists in the early 1640s (see
History of the Barometer (http://www.strange-loo
ps.com/scibarometer.html) ). Torricelli's
explanation of the principle of the barometer
appears in a letter to Michelangelo Ricci dated 11
June 1644.
2. "Rules and style conventions" (http://physics.nist.
gov/cuu/Units/rules.html) . NIST. Retrieved
29 September 2012.
3. BIPM – Resolution 4 of the 10th CGPM (http://ww
w.bipm.org/en/CGPM/db/10/4/) .
4. National Physical Laboratory: Pressure units (htt
p://www.npl.co.uk/reference/faqs/pressure-unit
s) .
5. BS 350: Part 1: 1974 – Conversion factors and
tables. British Standards Institution. 1974. p. 49.
6. Council directive 80/181/EEC (https://eur-lex.euro
pa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:31
980L0181) (20 December 1979)
7. Note that a pressure of 1 bar (100000 Pa) is
slightly less than a pressure of 1 atmosphere
(101325 Pa).
8. Cohen E. R. et al. Quantities, Units and Symbols in
Physical Chemistry (https://books.google.com/bo
oks?id=TElmhULQoeIC) , 3rd ed. Royal Society of
Chemistry, 2007 ISBN 0-85404-433-7 (IUPAC pdf
copy (http://www.iupac.org/publications/books/g
book/green_book_2ed.pdf) ).
 9. DeVoe H. Thermodynamics and Chemistry.
Prentice-Hall, Inc., 2001, ISBN 0-02-328741-1.

External links

NPL – pressure units (http://www.npl.co.uk/pre

ssure/punits.html)

Portal: Physics

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