Standard Atmosphere
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Standard Atmosphere
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1. A hypothetical vertical distribution of atmospheric temperature,
pressure, and density which, by international agreement, is taken to be
representative of the atmosphere
(see Table XV ) for purposes of pressure altimeter
calibrations, aircraft performance calculations, aircraft and rocket design,
ballistic tables, etc. The air is assumed to be devoid of dust, moisture, and
water vapor and to obey the perfect gas law and the hydrostatic equation (the
air is static with respect to the earth).
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Standard atmospheres, sense 1, which have been used are: (a) The NACA
standard atmosphere, also called U.S. standard atmosphere, prepared in 1925,
which was supplanted by (b) The ICAO standard atmosphere, adopted in 1952,
which was extended to greater altitudes by (c) The ARDC model atmosphere,
1956, and (d) The U.S. extension to the ICAO standard atmosphere, adopted in
1956, which has been revised by (e) The ARDC model atmosphere, 1959, which
incorporated some satellite data which has been supplanted by (f) The U.S.
Standard Atmosphere-1962. (See Table XV ).
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2. (abbr atm). A standard unit of atmospheric
pressure, defined as that pressure exerted by a 760-millimeter column of
mercury at standard gravity (980.665 centimeters per second per second) at
temperature 0 degrees C.
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1 standard atmosphere = 760 millimeters of mercury; = 29.9213 inches of
mercury; = 1013.250 millibars.
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References
This article is based on NASA's Dictionary of Technical Terms for Aerospace Use
