In 1643 Evangelista Torricelli whilst conducting experiments on notes from the astronomer Galileo, led to the discovery, that by using mercury he could create a vacuum in an inverted glass tube and the level of the mercury would rise and fall with the day to day changes in the atmospheric pressure. It was not until around 1675 that barometers came in to use domestically for weather prediction, although they had been used experimentally since 1644. Torricelli’s concept was developed by Robert Boyle taking it from the experimental apparatus state into the usable domestic version. During this period it had been used mainly for measuring height, as air pressure decreases the higher you are. From this came the realisation that that local climatic conditions and air pressure were somehow connected.

The stick Barometer was the first made as a scientific instrument;. As the popularity of the barometer grew so did their decoration and attractiveness and were considered prize pieces of furniture as well as being useful. The early stick barometer was joined in around 1663 by the wheel barometer devised by Hooke but it did not gain popularity till around the 1700’s. A problem with these mercury barometers was that they were not easily portable and had to be handled with extreme care to prevent the spillage of the mercury. By 1843 Vidie had invented a barometer without mercury this was called an aneroid mechanism and consisted of the vacuum chamber being connected to the pointer by levers to enhance the movement. This meant that they immediately became more portable and could be used by scientists and engineers in the field for measuring heights of hills and at sea.