Applications Determine the mass of the earth's atmosphere.
Since pressure is force divided by area, the force of the atmosphere pressing on the surface of the earth can be found by multiplying standard atmospheric pressure by the surface area of the earth. Given that the force of an object's weight is its mass times the acceleration due to gravity, the mass of the earth's atmosphere is the force it exerts divided by the acceleration due to gravity. Determine the blood pressure of this poor, unfortunate horse that gave its life for science. Blood pressure is normally stated as a gauge pressure. To solve this problem, use Pascal's principle but ignore the contribution of the atmosphere.