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Glite Dictionary
kilobar

kilobar

7.8
A large measure of pressure used in science, equal to one thousand bars
  • noun
  • /ˈkɪloʊˌbɑr/
  • Specialized
: kilobar
  • In addition, he designed and developed a device for generating pressures of up to 500 kilobars (over 700 million psi).

Examples

  • The researchers conducted experiments at pressures exceeding 1000 kilobars to study the behavior of materials.

  • And yet, as Harry Drickamer of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has observed, if a few kilobars of pressure produce a large effect in some property of a system of, say, large, tortuous but not very compact molecules, such as biomolecules, then this effect can surely be taken as high pressure.

    Academic text (1998)

  • Measuring atmospheric pressure in kilobars provides a clear understanding of changes at deep ocean levels.

  • The new technology allows scientists to simulate conditions of up to 500 kilobars in their tests.

Surface Forms

kilobar singular
kilobars plural

Morphology

kilobar = bar (transparent) = kilo + bar

Formed by the SI prefix 'kilo-' meaning 1000 plus the unit 'bar'; the numeric scaling is a standard and productive pattern.

Etymology

Kilobar comes from kilo- meaning 'thousand' (as in kilogram or kilometre) and bar, a unit whose name comes from an old word for 'weight' now used for pressure, so a kilobar is literally 'one thousand bars' and this explains why it measures very high pressure.