When we take our first steps at altitude, some interesting changes take placeWhen we open a bottle of water, we feel a puff of air as we twist the cap, potato chip packages swell to the point of bursting, and water boils at a lower temperature. Also, we feel less energetic and move more slowly..
Why is all this happening?
These effects do not occur by magic, but because as altitude increases, atmospheric pressure decreases. because as the altitude increases, the atmospheric pressure decreases.. That is, the force exerted by the air on the Earth’s surface decreases.
So, water boils at a lower temperature because its boiling point is determined by atmospheric pressure and potato chip packages swell because they are hermetically sealed at a standard atmospheric pressure which, as it decreases, causes the air inside the package to expand.
And, as you may have noticed, you may feel more tired. This is because atmospheric pressure helps transport oxygen to the body. As the pressure decreases, less oxygen is available to your body, which makes you feel tired and find it more difficult to breathe.
How does atmospheric pressure decrease at higher altitudes?
At sea level, the average atmospheric pressure is about 1013 hPa (hectopascal). At 1500 masl, the pressure decreases approximately 15% at 850 hPa. At about 3000 masl, the pressure drops to approximately 700 hPa, with 30% less air pressure and oxygen. Therefore, it is not surprising that you feel headaches or upset tummy.
At 5500 meters above sea level, the pressure drops to about 500 hPa: half the atmospheric pressure at sea level. To reach these altitudes, it is important to acclimatize properly..
Is it possible to measure the air pressure air pressure during an ascent?
You can use an altimeter, which is essentially a small barometer. An altimeter makes use of the normal change in pressure with altitude and must be calibrated at a known altitude at the beginning of the ascent.. Since the actual pressure change is usually slightly different, altimeters may have small errors (usually no more than 7 to 15 meters).
Pressure altimeters provide more accurate elevations than GPS units, which often have a 15 to 30 meter difference and do not always work under dense cover (e.g., within a forest).pressure altimeters, which often have a difference of 15 to 30 meters and do not always work under dense cover (e.g., inside a forest).
On the other hand, many cell phones already have pressure sensors and there are altimeter applications that you can download free of charge..
Would you like to know how you can prepare, move and make decisions at altitude? In this article of our blog, we leave you a lot of tips: Prepare body and mind for altitude.
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