Atmospheric Pressure vs. a Gigantic Barrel

In physics, pressure quantifies the importance of the force distribution on a surface area. In our everyday life, physical sensation is related to the pressure exerted by a mechanical force rather than the force itself. However, apart from the pain felt in our ears when landing during a flight or when going from the countryside to cities at lower altitudes, atmospheric air pressure often remains unnoticed. In the literature, many experiments have studied the effect of air pressure. In this paper, we decided to show the impact of this “unfelt” pressure in a remarkable way. Assisted by some of our undergraduate students, we constructed a 625-L steel barrel that was smashed by the atmosphere. This was made possible by creating a pressure difference at the surface of this gigantic barrel.