When we travel by airplane, the pressure changes. What does that mean exactly? Why does it make my ears hurt?
Equally, deep sea diving and submersibles. Ive read that the glass has to be massively reinforced to stand the pressure. Is the change in pressure the same type for air and sea? I.e does pressure increase for both?
Edit; Everyone did great! I understand now! The answer is “Water be heavy” and “Air be heavy. Less air above you when you fly so less pressure”
In: 13
The exact amount of the change in pressure differs, but the basic way it works is the same way.
Imagine you have perfectly stackable ice cubes. They all weigh the same, 1 unit. They all are measured 1 length a side. Each face is one square length, each cube is 1 cubic length.
(I’m not going to use actual measures just to keep things general. If you want to use “inch” or “centimetre” for “length”, or “gram” or “ounce” for “unit”, go for it.)
One ice cube on a flat surface puts the weight of 1 unit over a 1 square length area.
Stack an ice cube on top. Now, you’ve got two units on an area of 1 square length.
Pressure is weight over area. That’s it. So with two ice cubes pressing onto the 1 square length area, there’s double the pressure. Keep stacking ice cubes, keep increasing the pressure.
Air has weight, just like the ice cubes do. When you go further up in the sky, there’s less air pressing down. Less stuff, fewer ice cubes, less pressure.
Your ear feels funky because the inside of your head has pressure pushing back against the outside. Ears have sensitive parts that can detect those small changes of pressure since changes in pressure are also how sound is transmitted.
And when you go underwater? Not only do you have all the air pressing down, but now you’ve got all that water too. Water is heavy.
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