Editing Barometer (section)

==== Torricelli's mercury barometer ====
[[File:Torricelli.jpg|thumb|239x239px|Torricelli's mercury in glass tube experiment]]
Because of rumors circulating in Torricelli's gossipy Italian neighborhood, which included that he was engaged in some form of sorcery or witchcraft, Torricelli realized he had to keep his experiment secret to avoid the risk of being arrested. He needed to use a liquid that was heavier than water, and from his previous association and suggestions by Galileo, he deduced that by using [[Mercury (element)|mercury]], a shorter tube could be used. With mercury, which is about 14 times denser than water, a tube only 80&nbsp;cm was now needed, not 10.5&nbsp;m.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.barometer.ws/history.html |title=Brief History of the Barometer |publisher=Barometer.ws |access-date=2010-02-04| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100114144734/http://www.barometer.ws/history.html| archive-date= 14 January 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref> Furthermore, Torricelli demonstrated that atmospheric pressure could support a column of mercury approximately 30 inches high.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=1944JRASC..38...41K Page 49 |url=https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu//full/1944JRASC..38...41K/0000049.000.html |access-date=2025-03-07 |journal=Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada|bibcode=1944JRASC..38...41K |last1=Knowles Middleton |first1=W. E. |date=1944 |volume=38 |page=41 }}</ref>