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Density of air - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Density of air
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The density of air, (Greek: rho) (air density), is the mass per
unit volume of Earth's atmosphere. Air density, like air pressure,
decreases with increasing altitude. It also changes with variation
in temperature or humidity. At sea level and at 15 C, air has a
density of approximately 1.225 kg/m3 (0.001225 g/cm3,

Air density
Air density (in greek: rho)

0.0023769 slug/ft3, 0.0765 lbm/ft3) according to ISA

(International Standard Atmosphere).
The air density is a property used in many branches of science as
aeronautics;[1][2][3] gravimetric analysis;[4] the air-conditioning[5]
industry; atmospheric research and meteorology;[6][7][8] the
agricultural engineering in their modeling and tracking of SoilVegetation-Atmosphere-Transfer (SVAT) models;[9][10][11] and
the engineering community that deals with compressed air[12]
from industry utility, heating, dry and cooling process[12] in
industry like a cooling towers, vacuum and deep vacuum
processes,[5] high pressure processes,[5] the gas and light oil

Representation of an air sample

processes[5][12]

combustion
that power our turbines airplanes, gas
turbine-powered generators and heating furnaces, and air

thermodynamic property
Volumetric mass density

conditioning[5] from deep mines to space capsules.

List of thermodynamic properties

General information

Contents
1 Density of air calculations
1.1 Density of air variables
1.1.1 Temperature and pressure
1.1.2 Humidity (water vapor)
1.1.3 Altitude
1.1.4 Composition
2 See also
3 Notes
4 References

property

Air density

symbol

Variable of state

yes

Type of property

material

dependence of the

intensive

mass

Dimensional function

M.L-3

Units

kg.m-3

property value

1.2922 kg.m-3
Common units

5 External links

International System (SI) kg.m-3

Density of air calculations

Depending on the measuring instruments, use, area of expertise
and necessary rigor of the result different calculation criteria and
sets of equations for the calculation of the density of air are used.
This topic are some examples of calculations with the main
variables involved, the amounts presented throughout these
examples are properly referenced usual values, different values
can be found in other references depending on the criteria used
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Imperial units

lb.ft-3

CGS System (CGS)

g.cm-3

Standard value(s) Air density

Calculation variables IUPAC
absolute pressure - p

100000.0 Pa

absolute temperature - T

273.15 K
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for the calculation . Furthermore we must pay attention to the fact

that air is a mixture of gases and the calculation always simplify,
to a greater or lesser extent, the properties of the mixture and the
values for the composition according to the criteria of
calculation.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]

Density of air variables

Temperature and pressure
The density of dry air can be calculated using the ideal gas law,
expressed as a function of temperature and pressure:

Gas constant - Rspecific

287.058 J.kg-1.K-1

Value in calculation conditions IUPAC

Air density -

1.2754 kg.m-3

Calculation Variables STP

absolute pressure - p

100000.0 Pa

absolute temperature - T

273.15 K

molar volume - Vm

22.710953 l.mol-1

molar mass - Mair

28.9645 g.mol-1

Value in calculation conditions STP

Air density -

1.2754 kg.m-3

Calculation Variables NIST

where:

absolute pressure - p

101325.0 Pa

air density

absolute temperature - T

273.15 K

absolute pressure

molar volume - Vm

22.413968 l.mol-1

molar mass - Mair

28.9645 g.mol-1

absolute temperature
specific gas constant for dry air

Value in calculation conditions NIST

The specific gas constant for dry air is 287.058 J/(kgK) in SI

units, and 53.35 (ftlbf)/(lbmR) in United States customary and
Imperial units. This quantity may vary slightly depending on the
molecular composition of air at a particular location.

Air density -

1.2922 kg.m-3

Calculation Variables Imperial units

absolute pressure - p

14.695858 psia (lbf.in-

Therefore:

2)

At IUPAC standard temperature and pressure (0 C and

absolute temperature - T

491.67 R (32 F)

100 kPa), dry air has a density of 1.2754 kg/m3.

Gas constant - Rspecific

53.3533 ft.lbf.lbm-1.R-

At 20 C and 101.325 kPa, dry air has a density of

1.2041 kg/m3.
At 70 F and 14.696 psi, dry air has a density of

Value in calculation conditions Imperial units

Air density -

0.074887lbm/ft3.
The following table illustrates the air densitytemperature
relationship at 1 atm or 101.325 kPa:

0.080672 lb .ft-3
m

Equations
Basic equation

Ideal gas equation

Ideal gas equation (another form)

Units of SI & NIST in the field of general information,

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Effect of temperature on properties of air

Speed of Density of
Specific acoustic
Temperature
sound
air
impedance
T (C)
1
3
c (ms ) (kgm )
z (Pam1s)
+35

351.88

1.1455

403.2

+30

349.02

1.1644

406.5

+25

346.13

1.1839

409.4

+20

343.21

1.2041

413.3

+15

340.27

1.2250

416.9

+10

337.31

1.2466

420.5

+5

334.32

1.2690

424.3

331.30

1.2922

428.0

328.25

1.3163

432.1

10

325.18

1.3413

436.1

15

322.07

1.3673

440.3

20

318.94

1.3943

444.6

25

315.77

1.4224

449.1

unless otherwise stated

Humidity (water vapor)

The addition of water vapor to air (making the air humid) reduces the density of the air, which may at first appear
counter-intuitive. This occurs because the molar mass of water (18 g/mol) is less than the molar mass of dry
air[note 1] (around 29 g/mol). For any gas, at a given temperature and pressure, the number of molecules present is
constant for a particular volume (see Avogadro's Law). So when water molecules (water vapor) are added to a
given volume of air, the dry air molecules must decrease by the same number, to keep the pressure or temperature
from increasing. Hence the mass per unit volume of the gas (its density) decreases.
The density of humid air may be calculated as a mixture of ideal gases. In this case, the partial pressure of water
vapor is known as the vapor pressure. Using this method, error in the density calculation is less than 0.2% in the
range of 10 C to 50 C. The density of humid air is found by:
[13]

where:
Density of the humid air (kg/m)
Partial pressure of dry air (Pa)
Specific gas constant for dry air, 287.058 J/(kgK)
Temperature (K)
Pressure of water vapor (Pa)
Specific gas constant for water vapor, 461.495 J/(kgK)
Molar mass of dry air, 0.028964 kg/mol
Molar mass of water vapor, 0.018016 kg/mol
Universal gas constant, 8.314 J/(Kmol)
The vapor pressure of water may be calculated from the saturation vapor pressure and relative humidity. It is found
by:
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where:

The movement of the helicopter rotor leads to a difference in pressure between the upper and lower blade surfaces,
allowing the helicopter to fly. A consequence of the pressure change is local variation in air density, strongest in
the boundary layer or at transonic speeds.

Vapor pressure of water

Relative humidity
Saturation vapor pressure
The saturation vapor pressure of water at any given temperature is the vapor pressure when relative humidity is
100%. One formula [14] used to find the saturation vapor pressure is:

where

is in degrees C.
note:
This equation will give the result of pressure in hPa (100 Pa, equivalent to the older unit millibar, 1
mbar = 0.001 bar = 0.1 kPa)

The partial pressure of dry air

Where

is found considering partial pressure, resulting in:

simply denotes the observed absolute pressure.

Altitude
To calculate the density of air as a function of altitude, one requires additional parameters. They are listed below,
along with their values according to the International Standard Atmosphere, using for calculation the universal gas
constant instead of the air specific constant:
sea level standard atmospheric pressure, 101.325 kPa
sea level standard temperature, 288.15 K
earth-surface gravitational acceleration, 9.80665 m/s2
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temperature lapse rate, 0.0065 K/m

ideal (universal) gas constant, 8.31447 J/(molK)
molar mass of dry air, 0.0289644 kg/mol
Temperature at altitude
troposphere):

meters above sea level is approximated by the following formula (only valid inside the

The pressure at altitude

is given by:

Density can then be calculated according

to a molar form of the ideal gas law:

where:

Standard Atmosphere: p0=101.325 kPa, T0=288.15 K, =1.225 [[kg/m3]]

molar mass
ideal gas constant
absolute temperature
absolute pressure must be in Pa and not the kPa above.
Composition
The air composition adopted for each set of equations varies with the references used in the table below are listed
some examples of air composition according to the references. Despite minor differences to define all formulations
the predicted molar mass of dry air and below table shows these differences. Importantly, some of the examples
are not normalized so that the composition is equal to unity (100%), before they used should be normalized.

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Composition of dry atmosphere, by volume[note 1]

Gas (and others)

Volume by various[15][note 2]

Volume by CIPM-2007[16]

Volume by ASHRAE[17]

ppmv[note 3]

percentile

ppmv

percentile

ppmv

percentile

Nitrogen

(N2)

780,800

(78.080%)

780,848

(78.0848%)

780,818

(78.0818%)

Oxygen

(O2)

209,500

(20.950%)

209,390

(20.9390%)

209,435

(20.9435%)

Argon

(Ar)

9,340

(0.9340%)

9,332

(0.9332%)

9,332

(0.9332%)

397.8

(0.03978%)

400

(0.0400%)

385

(0.0385%)

Carbon (CO )
2
dioxide
Neon

(Ne)

18.18

(0.001818%)

18.2

(0.00182%)

18.2

(0.00182%)

Helium

(He)

5.24

(0.000524%)

5.2

(0.00052%)

5.2

(0.00052%)

Methane (CH4)

1.81

(0.000181%)

1.5

(0.00015%)

1.5

(0.00015%)

Krypton

(Kr)

1.14

(0.000114%)

1.1

(0.00011%)

1.1

(0.00011%)

Hydrogen (H2)

0.55

(0.000055%)

0.5

(0.00005%)

0.5

(0.00005%)

0.325

(0.0000325%)

0.3

(0.00003%)

0.3

(0.00003%)

0.1

(0.00001% )

0.2

(0.00002%)

0.2

(0.00002%)

0.09

(0.000009%)

0.1

(0.00001%)

0.1

(0.00001%)

0.02

(0.000002%)

text

0.01

(0.000001%)

to

Ammonia (NH3)

trace

trace

Sulphur (SO )
2
dioxide

trace

trace

Nitrous (N O)
2
oxide
Carbon
(CO)
monoxide
Xenon

(Xe)

Nitrogen (NO )
2
dioxide
Iodine

(I2)

0.02 to 0.07
Ozone

(O3)

[note 4]

(2 to 7

Tap
this

expand
or

106%)

[note 4]

collapse
the

Trace to
30 ppm

(----)

2.9

(0.00029%)

[note 6]

Dry air
total

table

(air) 1,000,065.265 (100.0065265%) 999,997.100 (99.9997100%) 1,000,000.000 (100.0000000%)

Not included in above dry atmosphere:

Water
vapor

(H2O)

~0.25% by mass over full atmosphere, locally 0.001%5% by volume.[21]

1. ^ Concentration pertains to the troposphere

2. ^ The NASA total value do not add up to exactly 100% due to roundoff and uncertainty. To normalize, N2 should be
reduced by about 51.46 ppmv and O2 by about 13.805 ppmv.
3. ^ ppmv: parts per million by volume (note: volume fraction is equal to mole fraction for ideal gas only, see volume
(thermodynamics))
4. ^ a b c d e f values disregarded for the calculation of total dry air
5. ^ a b (O3) concentration up to 0.07 ppmv (7 106%) in summer and up to 0.02 ppmv (2 106%) in winter
6. ^ volumetric composition value adjustment factor (sum of all trace gases, below the (CO2), and adjusts for 30 ppmv)

See also
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Air
Density
Atmosphere of Earth
International Standard Atmosphere
U.S. Standard Atmosphere
NRLMSISE-00

Notes
1. ^ like the dry air is a mixture of gases his molar mass is a pondered molar mass of their components

References
1. ^ a b Olson, Wayne M. (2000) AFFTC-TIH-99-01, Aircraft Performance Flight
2. ^ a b ICAO, Manual of the ICAO Standard Atmosphere (extended to 80 kilometres (262 500 feet)), Doc 7488-CD, Third
Edition, 1993, ISBN 92-9194-004-6.
3. ^ a b Grigorie, T.L., Dinca, L., Corcau J-I. and Grigorie, O. (2010) Aircrafts [sic] Altitude Measurement Using Pressure
Information:Barometric Altitude and Density Altitude
4. ^ a b A., Picard, R.S., Davis, M., Glser and K., Fujii (CIPM-2007) Revised formula for the density of moist air
5. ^ a b c d e f S. Herrmann, H.-J. Kretzschmar, and D.P. Gatley (2009), ASHRAE RP-1485 Final Report
6. ^ a b F.R. Martins, R.A. Guarnieri e E.B. Pereira, (2007) O aproveitamento da energia elica (The wind energy
resource).
7. ^ a b Andrade, R.G., Sediyama, G.C., Batistella, M., Victoria, D.C., da Paz, A.R., Lima, E.P., Nogueira, S.F. (2009)
Mapeamento de parmetros biofsicos e da evapotranspirao no Pantanal usando tcnicas de sensoriamento remoto
8. ^ a b Marshall,John and Plumb,R. Alan (2008), Atmosphere, ocean, and climate dynamics: an introductory text ISBN
978-0-12-558691-7.
9. ^ a b Pollacco, J. A., and B. P. Mohanty (2012), Uncertainties of Water Fluxes in Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere Transfer
Models: Inverting Surface Soil Moisture and Evapotranspiration Retrieved from Remote Sensing, Vadose Zone Journal,
11(3), doi:10.2136/vzj2011.0167.
10. ^ a b Shin, Y., B. P. Mohanty, and A.V.M. Ines (2013), Estimating Effective Soil Hydraulic Properties Using Spatially
Distributed Soil Moisture and Evapotranspiration, Vadose Zone Journal, 12(3), doi:10.2136/vzj2012.0094.
11. ^ a b Saito, H., J. Simunek, and B. P. Mohanty (2006), Numerical Analysis of Coupled Water, Vapor, and Heat
Transport in the Vadose Zone, Vadose Zone J. 5: 784-800.
12. ^ a b c d Perry, R.H. and Chilton, C.H., eds., Chemical Engineers Handbook, 5th ed., McGraw-Hill, 1973.
13. ^ Shelquist,R (2009) Equations - Air Density and Density Altitude (http://wahiduddin.net/calc/density_altitude.htm)
14. ^ Shelquist,R (2009) Algorithms - Schlatter and Baker (http://wahiduddin.net/calc/density_algorithms.htm)
15. ^ Partial sources for figures: Base constituents, Nasa earth factsheet
(http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html), (updated 2014-03). Carbon dioxide, NOAA Earth System
Research Laboratory (http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/#mlo), (updated 2014-03). Methane and Nitrous
Oxide, The NOAA Annual greenhouse gas index(AGGI) Greenhouse gas-Figure 2
(http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/aggi.html), (updated 2014-03).
16. ^ A., Picard, R.S., Davis, M., Glser and K., Fujii (2008), Revised formula for the density of moist air (CIPM-2007),
Metrologia 45 (2008) 149155 doi:10.1088/0026-1394/45/2/004, pg 151 Table 1
17. ^ S. Herrmann, H.-J. Kretzschmar, and D.P. Gatley (2009), ASHRAE RP-1485 Final Report Thermodynamic Properties
of Real Moist Air,Dry Air, Steam, Water, and Ice pg 16 Table 2.1 and 2.2
18. ^ Thomas W. Schlatter (2009), Atmospheric Composition and Vertical Structure pg 15 Table 2
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19. ^ ICAO, Manual of the ICAO Standard Atmosphere (extended to 80 kilometres (262 500 feet)), Doc 7488-CD, Third
Edition, (1993), ISBN 92-9194-004-6. pg E-x Table B
20. ^ U.S. Committee on Extension to the Standard Atmosphere (COESA) (1976) U.S. Standard Atmosphere, 1976 pg 03
Table 3
21. ^ a b Wallace, John M. and Peter V. Hobbs. Atmospheric Science; An Introductory Survey.Elsevier. Second Edition,
2006. ISBN 13:978-0-12-732951-2. Chapter 1

External links
Conversions of density units by Sengpielaudio (http://www.sengpielaudio.com/ConvDensi.htm)
Air density and density altitude calculations and by Richard Shelquist
(http://wahiduddin.net/calc/density_altitude.htm)
Air density calculations by Sengpielaudio (section under Speed of sound in humid air)
(http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-airpressure.htm)
Air density calculator by Engineering design encyclopedia
(http://www.enggcyclopedia.com/calculators/physical-properties/air-density-calculator/)
Atmospheric pressure calculator by wolfdynamics (http://www.wolfdynamics.com/tools/atmosphericpressure-calculator.html/)
Air iTools - Air density calculator for mobile by JSyA (https://itunes.apple.com/en/app/airitools/id598469643?mt=8)
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Categories: Atmospheric thermodynamics Density
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