Atmosculator for Mac
Calculates key properties of Earth atmosphere.
Free
In English
Version 3.0When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission
Atmosculator overview
Atmosculator is a freeware Mac OS X application that calculates key properties of the Earth's atmosphere as a function of altitude using the 1976 Standard Atmosphere Model. It can be used to determine the pressure, temperature, density, viscosity and other parameters up to an altitude of 278,385 feet (84.852 km). The 1976 model is the latest of a number of versions developed jointly by NOAA, NASA and the USAF. The complete model includes properties at even higher altitudes, but these regions are more complex and are not included here.
Atmosculator also provides the option of calculating properties under non-standard conditions - i.e. when the temperature differs from that of the standard model.
Although the values provided by Atmosculator have been carefully checked against the original U.S. Government source, their accuracy cannot be guaranteed, so please use this tool at your own risk.
If the above link does not work, try: U.S. Standard Atmosphere 1976 which can be found by searching NASA Technical Reports Server. This link might be useful: U.S. Standard Atmosphere 1976.
Atmosculator includes extensive Help on the basis of the model and a mathematical derivation showing how the properties are calculated. For your online convenience, this description of the Standard Atmosphere Model is reproduced here.
What’s new in version 3.0
Version 3.0:
No problems were reported so this is the same as 3.0β without the β.
Note: When you launch v3.0 after 6/30/2016, it will present a dialog box saying it has expired; just click on "Continue" button and it will continue to be fully functional. An updated version is in the works.
Atmosculator for Mac
Free
In English
Version 3.0
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(1 Reviews of Atmosculator)
Comments
User Ratings
Jan 16 2006
Version: 2.02
This is a great tool for educators and others just interested in the properties of the atmosphere. Although what it does could be communicated well in a more graphical way (sometimes, though, people can't interpret graphs well and then the usefulness is gone), it allows the user to interact with the numerical values and see the results. I especially like the speed of sound part - great when teaching about Mach values. Atmosculator could do with a preference setting to use SI units with just one click and an alternative input method (maybe sliders) that allows you to step the values up with clicks. It's still a great program for using but hiding equations.