These dell guys can't possibly be serious...

Originally Posted by cheesehead

According to my physics understanding, in a closed vessel such as the shuttle, rather than in the open atmosphere, the density ratio would be the same as the pressure ratio, but I could be wrong.

In a constant temperature environment, the density and pressure ratios follow each other. The atmospheric density ratio falls more slowly with altitude because air temperature decreases with altitude...at least within the bottom 36,000 feet.

Drew

[cheesehead]

Originally Posted by Drew

The atmospheric density ratio falls more slowly with altitude because air temperature decreases with altitude...at least within the bottom 36,000 feet.

Um ... so _that_'s what the table column titled "Temperature" means!