Kilopascals

A kilopascal is a unit of pressure in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to one thousand pascals (1 kPa = 1000 Pa), and it is commonly used to express moderate to high pressures in engineering, science, and everyday measurements. The symbol for the unit is kPa.

One pascal equals one newton per square meter, so a kilopascal is a thousand newtons per square meter. Related units include 1 MPa = 1000 kPa and 1 bar = 100 kPa. Atmospheric pressure at sea level is about 101.3 kPa, approximately 1.0 atm, illustrating typical magnitudes expressed in kilopascals.

Kilopascals are used across several fields. In meteorology, they describe atmospheric and surface pressures. In engineering and hydraulics, they express pressures in systems such as pipelines, pneumatic controls, and mechanical components. In consumer contexts, tire pressures and air compressor outputs are often given in kPa. For example, typical car tire pressures are around 200 kPa, roughly 2 bar, though actual values vary by tire and load. In physiology, blood pressure can be converted to kilopascals (roughly 16 kPa systolic and 11 kPa diastolic for a normal adult), but clinical practice usually reports measurements in millimeters of mercury.

Measurement devices such as pressure transducers, manometers, and barometers can display readings in kilopascals, with many instruments capable to convert to other units like psi or bars. The kilopascal remains a standard SI unit for reporting moderate pressures in scientific and technical contexts.