What is kPa?

, , Comments Off on What is kPa?

KPa is the symbol for kilo-Pascal, a unit of pressure named after Blaise Pascal, a French philosopher. The “K” in kPa represents kilo or the equivalent of 1000 Pascal. Whenever pressure is measured in a certain area for example, it may be expressed using the symbol Pa for Pascal or kPa for kilo-Pascal.

Pressure refers to the force exerted per unit of area. In terms of the standard atmospheric pressure, the defined reading is at 101.325 kilopascals or kPas. This figure represents the amount of pressure exerted by the wind or area in the atmosphere. This simply means that the reading for atmospheric pressure can also vary depending on the force exerted by the wind. In the case of violent storms for example, the air may travel in the atmosphere at a much faster rate when compared to normal sunny days. When this happens, more pressure is also exerted by the air in the atmosphere and therefore elevating atmospheric pressure. Standard atmospheric pressure will then be increased at varying increments using kPa as one unit of measurement.

In many scientific applications, the use of kPa as a pressure measuring unit is not very common. This is due to the fact that the reading for kPa is said to be found between other units of measurement such as the Hectopascal and the so-called Bar. There are also cases that psi or pounds per square inch is the unit of pressure that is preferred. Whatever the case is, people will simply need to convert one unit of measurement to another in order to get the desired output and unit of pressure. For kilopascal or kPa, it is typically used to measure sub-atmospheric pressures. There are also cases wherein people may find kPa as the pressure unit used in evaluating ventilation systems in a building. In this particular case, the low differential air pressure may be measured and indicated with a kPa unit or symbol.

Tea Time Quiz

[forminator_poll id="23176"]