What is the height, in feet, of a column of air equivalent to the static pressure exerted by a 1-inch water column?

To determine the height of a column of air that corresponds to the static pressure exerted by a 1-inch column of water, you need to apply the concept of pressure equivalency between different fluids. The height of a water column exerts pressure due to its weight, and this pressure can be translated into an equivalent height of air.

The pressure exerted by a column of liquid is often expressed in inches of water. One inch of water is approximately equal to 0.0361 psi (pounds per square inch). When converting this pressure to an equivalent height of air, the standard relationship used is that 1 psi can support a column of air that is roughly 2,309 inches tall, which is approximately 192.4 feet.

Specifically, for 1 inch of water (0.0361 psi), the equivalent height of air can be calculated with the following relationship:

Equivalent height of air (in feet) = Pressure (in psi) × 2,309 inches/psi ÷ 12 inches/foot.

Therefore, substituting the values results in:

0.0361 psi × 2,309 inches/psi ÷ 12 inches/foot ≈ 33.9 feet.

This means that the