Skip to main content
bar absolute

bar absolute

9.9
A unit of pressure measured from complete vacuum and equal to the air pressure at sea level
  • noun
  • /bɑr æbˈsəːlʊt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : barra absoluta
  • Atmospheric pressure at sea level is nearly one bar absolute.

Examples

  • One bar absolute equals 100,000 pascals.

  • Pressure readings must specify if they refer to bar absolute or bar gauge.

  • The system operates at 2 bars absolute to ensure accurate measurements.

  • The pressure is measured in bar absolute.

  • The pressure readings must state whether they are given in bar absolute or bar gauge.

  • At sea level, the atmospheric pressure is approximately one bar absolute.

  • For accurate calibration, the device measures pressure in bar absolute.

Synonyms

barye
vsbar absolute
  • Archaic
9.9

A small unit for measuring pressure used in physics before the pascal became common

is the same unit but uses a different modern name
microbar
vsbar absolute
  • Specialized
9.8

A very small unit for measuring pressure equal to one millionth of a bar

is the same unit but described without reference to the bar scale

Surface Forms

bar absolute singular
bar absolutes plural

Morphology

bar + absolute

The phrase is compositionally built from 'bar' (a unit of pressure) plus the adjective 'absolute', so a learner can infer it denotes a particular kind of bar/pressure measurement. However the precise technical sense (pressure measured relative to a vacuum and the specific dyne/cm² equivalence) is specialised and not predictable from everyday senses of 'absolute', so understanding requires domain knowledge.

Etymology

Bar absolute puts together bar, a unit that measures pressure, and absolute, which means measured from 'zero' or from an 'empty space' with no air. That's why bar absolute tells you the true pressure from that zero starting point.