Kilopascal

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A unit of pressure equal to one thousand pascals, often used in scientific contexts to measure atmospheric pressure
2. A metric unit representing pressure, specifically one kPa being one thousand newtons per square meter, commonly applied in engineering and meteorology
3. An SI (International System of Units) measurement indicating pressure, defined as force of one thousand newtons distributed over an area of one square meter

Etymology: The kilopascal is a compound of two parts: "kilo-", from the Greek "khilioi" meaning "thousand", which the metric system uses as a prefix multiplying a unit by one thousand, and "pascal", the unit named for the French mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal. A pascal is one newton per square metre, so the kilopascal stands for a thousand of those. The pascal itself honours Pascal's work on fluid pressure, and the name was adopted for the SI unit of pressure much later than his lifetime. Engineers and meteorologists use the kilopascal because the pascal alone is a very small quantity: atmospheric pressure at sea level is roughly 101 kilopascals, a figure that would be an unwieldy 101,000 pascals if the prefix were left out.

Synonyms: kPa, pressure unit, metric unit, measurement unit, scientific unit