Thanks for asking the question, as I'm considering Vacuum too.
When Russell say's 18" , he is referring to a vacuum of 18" inches of mercury (Hg) on a vacuum gauge.
Normal Air Pressure (0 % Vacuum) = 14.7 PSI (atmospheric Pressure) or 0 inches of Mercury on a vacuum gauge
a 61 % Vacuum = 5.8 PSI (atmospheric Pressure) or 18" Mercury on a vacuum gauge
A 100% Vacuum = 0.0 PSI (atmospheric Pressure) or about 30" of mercury on a vacuum gauge
Of course, gauges read the pressure difference between whatever you are measuring and atmospheric pressure; So I guess a pressure gauge would read -14.7 PSI (30") when measuring a perfect vacuum.
So correct me if I'm wrong, but.. It is impossible to exceed a vacuum of 30 inches.
EDIT 11:45 PM Found this after I posted it. Describes the difference between gauge pressure & atmoshperic pressure
Your indicator is a vacuum gauge, calibrated in inches of mercury. Technically, "vacuum" is not the perfect terminology to describe low air pressure, but it's a familiar word so we'll use it. Most people seem to think of vacuum as if it were "negative pressure".
Whoa, let's back up a tiny bit and find out why this is wrong. It may help to know that, scientifically, a perfect vacuum would be considered an "absolute pressure" of zero. Remember seeing storm weather on a barometer, which measures atmospheric pressure, typically reading between 29-31 inches? Yep, that's absolute air pressure. Indeed, the air we breathe all day long is under pressure. We can measure it in pounds per square inch (PSI, about 14.7) or about 30 inches of mercury or simply call it "1 atmosphere" of pressure. But no matter how we measure it, since we human beings are so familiar with breathing standard air pressure all day long (and not to mention we're a bit egocentric), we tend to think of it as "zero" pressure even when it really isn't. And this is how your dashboard gauge is calibrated: zero is standard atmospheric pressure. Given this point of reference, a perfect vacuum (absence of all air pressure) would therefore be equivalent to about -30 in/Hg of pressure. But nobody uses negative pressure readings; we think of "vacuum" instead, and we just refer to it as 30 inches of mercury.
from:
http://www.earlycuda.org/tech/vacuum1.htm
Last edited by PerryW; 04-03-2009 at 10:53 PM.
Reason: more info
2012: Probably 750 gravity taps and 50 buckets.
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