WOLFRAM|DEMONSTRATIONS PROJECT

Measuring Pulmonary Capacity

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h
0.343
Blowing into a water manometer is a simple way to determine a person's pulmonary capacity. The pressure in the manometer is
P=ρgh
, where
ρ
is the density of water,
g
is the gravitational acceleration, and
h
is the difference of the height of the water in the two columns; adding the atmospheric pressure
p
atm
, equal to
1.01×
3
10
Pa
, gives the total pressure to raise the water column.