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Torricelli's Barometer

Type Object Region Italy Time 1643

In 1643 Italian physicist Torricelli proved atmospheric pressure with a mercury column experiment in Florence and invented a device measuring pressur…

Timeline

  1. 1643Florence · TuscanyUnder Galileo's influence, Torricelli used an inverted mercury tube experiment to prove that the atmosphere exerts constant pressure on a liquid column, and built a mercury-column device capable of measuring pressure changes.
  2. 1644–1650Western Europe · Western EuropePascal and others conducted altitude-pressure experiments in France and elsewhere in the 1640s, verifying Torricelli's principle and making pressure measurement a standard scientific practice.

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