Your smartphone can already do all kinds of amazing things. It's your camera, navigation guide and compass. What you might not know is that it can also be used as a true barometer and altimeter, allowing you to predict weather changes by monitoring atmospheric pressure no matter where you are.
How barometers work
Many of us have an amateur meteorologist at heart, so while we can always pull up a weather forecast using an app or website, it's much more fun to track it and learn about atmospheric pressure trends on your own using a barometer.
A barometer measures air pressure. There are many types of barometers. Torricellian and aneroid barometers are traditional mechanical barometers you may have seen in the past, along with digital barometers found on smartphones and high-end outdoor watches.
Most modern smartphones have a built-in barometer that you can use for the same purpose. Cell phone manufacturers include barometers to improve GPS altitude results because barometers can be adversely affected by atmospheric pressure. While you may never need or desire to know your current altitude or air pressure, aspiring meteorologists, hikers, or just plain curious people may really want to know.
A barometer measures atmospheric pressure, so you can get a rough idea of what's going to happen by letting the barometer rise or fall. If the barometer rises, it means the weather is clear. If temperatures drop, it could lead to rain, snow, or other types of severe weather.
Today we will show you the basics of how to use the Barometer app on your smartphone. You can find and download barometer apps for iPhone and Android that you can use to make your own weather forecasts.
Using your smartphone barometer
On your smartphone, you can use the Barometer app to learn about weather trends. You can use any barometer app you like as they all function pretty much the same. Today we'll be using the free barometer and altimeter app from EXAMOBILE S.A., which you can download for Android and iOS here . Once you download and install the app, give it permission to use your GPS, and the barometer will automatically display the pressure.
As time goes by, the pointer will move up or down, which will indicate your local weather trends. In the screenshot below, we see that the pointer doesn't move up much, and that's because the weather is sunny most of the time. If it moves suddenly, we may need to bring an umbrella tonight!
As you See, the app has saved data from the last time the app was opened. It appears as a red triangle on the barometer, with a text describing the pressure change below. If for some reason it doesn't automatically load new readings, you can reset the current barometer value by pressing the button in the upper right corner.
In addition to being able to predict the weather, you can also check your current altitude. The important thing to remember here is the difference between altitude and elevation. Elevation is the height of the land you are standing on above sea level. Altitude is the height above the sea or ground. This particular app only tells us AMSL (above mean sea level), so we have to manually calculate AGL (above ground level) by subtracting the elevation.
So while your phone may be able to tell you your altitude, such as on a plane or while climbing a mountain, it won't tell you how far away from the ground it is if you don't already know your altitude.
If your phone doesn't have a built-in barometer, you can still use this app to measure atmospheric pressure. The app will display a yellow triangle warning you that your device does not have a barometric pressure sensor. Instead, it takes measurements from the nearest weather station over the Internet.
Most people like to take altitude readings while hiking or just out of curiosity, such as when traveling from one place to another. Barometric pressure readings, on the other hand, will usually appeal to anyone keen onDIY weather forecaster. You might find using your iPhone as an impromptu level more useful for tasks like hanging pictures.
There are quite a few barometer apps available on iTunes and Android Play, so if you simply search for the keyword "barometer," you can easily find a barometer app that's right for you.
These are the details on how to use your phone as a barometer or altimeter. For more information, please pay attention to other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!
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<p style="display: inline-flex;float: right; color:#333333;">Source: howtogeek.com</p>
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