From
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k-12/airplane/pressure.html
we read:
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Molecular Definition of Pressure[/FONT]
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From the kinetic theory of gases, a gas is composed of a large number of molecules that are very small relative to the distance between molecules. The molecules of a gas are in constant, random motion and frequently collide with each other and with the walls of any container. The molecules possess the physical properties of mass, momentum, and energy. The momentum of a single molecule is the product of its mass and velocity, while the kinetic energy is one half the mass times the square of the velocity. As the gas molecules collide with the walls of a container, as shown on the left of the figure, the molecules impart momentum to the walls, producing a force perpendicular to the wall. The sum of the forces of all the molecules striking the wall divided by the area of the wall is defined to be the pressure. The pressure of a gas is then a measure of the average linear momentum of the moving molecules of a gas. The pressure acts perpendicular (normal) to the wall; the tangential (shear) component of the force is related to the viscosity of the gas.
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Air molecules generate pressure by colliding with each other, not by molecular expansion. When molecules get cold they move less and generate less pressure. All molecular activity stops at absolute zero.
Reading about quantum mechanics will blow the minds of most of us. The deeper the scientists get into the structure of the atom, the more bizarre it gets. We used to talk about the orbits of electrons about the nucleus, but they tell us now that electrons don't orbit; we don't know what they do. Atom-smashing and analyzing equipment seems to indicate that all these particles are nothing but little packets of energy; they're not matter at all, and the desk my computer sits on is nothing but these tiny bits of energy separated by relatively enormous spaces, similar to the distances between the sun, planets, and the rest of the universe. It's not the solidity of the desk that supports my computer but the force fields between subatomic particles, atom, and molecules. Yes, Tom, it's mostly space between molecules.
Dan