[Physics] the pressure inside a closed bottle of air

ideal-gaspressure

Is it equal to atmospheric pressure? If so why? Surely the amount of air particles inside the bottle is much lower than the amount of the air particles above the bottle (i.e. the column of air above it) which should make it collapse as soon as the container gets sealed?

Best Answer

Taking your argument about the column of air above the bottle and how it should crush it:

You are not getting crushed right now. Whilst you are correct that this will mean that lower down in the atmosphere there will be slightly higher pressure, it is essentially negligable compared to a few metres above the bottle.

Consider unbalanced forces, if the pressure in the bottle was substantially lower than the pressure outside, there would be an unbalanced force and the material of the bottle will accelerate inwards (you can see this in a cheap plastic bottle if you suck some of the air out).