We cannot feel air pressure because it is always acting on us. This simple experiment allows us to feel air pressure.

Depending on the air pressure, the air in the atmosphere exerts a force of approximately one kilogram per square centimetre.

The experiment with the bottle allows us to generate a pressure of one kilogram per square centimetre.

To do this, we attach a small piece of wooden strip with a square cross-section of 10 mm x 10 mm to the lid of a 1-litre bottle.

Fill the bottle with one litre of water.

And place the bottle upside down on our hand, for example. Now the weight of the bottle presses down on one square centimetre of our hand. And we can now feel the weight of the air pressing down on every square centimetre of our body. (Strictly speaking, twice the pressure is now pressing down on this spot: the air pressure that is always there plus the weight of the bottle. However, we only feel the weight of the bottle, not the ambient pressure that is always there.

* Plastic bottle * Screw * Wooden strip with a square cross-section of 10 mm x 10 mm