To pack up the barometer, lower the upper carriage _very slowly_ until
the mercury has touched the top of the glass; then detach the barometer
from this carriage, and either let the upper end hang vertically below
the reservoir, or detach the reservoir end from its carriage and raise
it till the barometer hangs vertically. By this means the barometer is
completely filled with mercury, and then the tap must be closed. The tube
is then to be coiled away in its padded box. When too much air is found
in the trap, it must be extracted by means of the air-pump.
_The Aneroid Barometer._—The aneroid barometer is so convenient on
account of its portability that, although much less trustworthy than a
mercurial barometer, it is much more likely to be used by a traveller.
Care should be taken in using it to see that the pointer has come to a
position of equilibrium, and it should be tapped gently before reading.
The eye must be brought directly over the end of the pointer, and the
reading made to one-hundredth of an inch, the barometer being held in
a horizontal position. Every opportunity of comparing the aneroid with
a standard mercurial barometer should be taken, and a note made of the
readings of both. The mercurial barometer will require to be corrected
for temperature before its indications can be used for correcting the
aneroid, as all good aneroids are compensated for changes of temperature.
The readings of an aneroid give a very fair idea of the changes of
atmospheric pressure, and are very much better than none at all, although
they cannot in any case be accepted as of the highest order of accuracy.
The Watkin mountain aneroid, which is so constructed as to be thrown into
gear at the moment when it is read, appears to be free from the worst
errors of the ordinary aneroid.
For climatological purposes, it is impossible to make barometric
observations of value while travelling unless the altitude of each
camping-place is accurately known. This is practically never the case
except when travelling along the sea-shore or the margin of a great lake
the elevation of which has been determined. But, meteorology apart,
barometric readings in any little known country are of value, because by
comparing them with simultaneous readings taken at a neighbouring fixed
station, new data as to the altitude of the country may be obtained.
While in camp, it would be an extremely useful thing to make barometer
readings, even with an aneroid, every two hours, in order to get some
information as to the normal daily range of atmospheric pressure.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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