Vapor pressure or Vapor tension . Physics The pressure or tension of a confined body of vapor of a chemical substance in equilibrium with the solid or liquid form of the substance. The pressure of a given saturated vapor is a function of the temperature only, and may be measured by introducing a small quantity of the substance into a barometer and noting the depression of the column of mercury.
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vapor pressure
n : the pressure exerted by a vapor; often understood to mean
saturated vapor pressure (the vapor pressure of a vapor
in contact with its liquid form) [syn: vapour pressure]