I live in Denver which is at elevation 5280 ft.
Sea level barometer normal is 29.92 " Hg (14.7 psi).
Denver barometer normal is 24.76" Hg (12.16 psi).
Internal combustion engines operate at only 83% efficiency of an engine at sea level, and it takes several days for visitors to get acclimatized to the thinner air here if visiting from a lower elevation.
Several days ago I was filling my gas tank, and at the pump next to me was an RV. The RV owner said he was having trouble with the thinner air here, was short of breath, and wondered how long it took to get used to the altitude.
Out of curiosity, when I got home, I checked the barometric pressure via Weather Underground and it listed it at 30.11 " Hg (better than sea level normal), which we get quite often.
So my question is, why should the RV owner been short of breath?
With the higher barometric pressure shouldn't the oxygen quantity of the air been at least equal to, if not better than at sea level?
2007-07-16
06:05:13
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3 answers
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asked by
gatorbait
7