HYPSOMETER (Gr. lidos, height, pETpov, a measure)  , an instrument for measuring heights which employs the principles that the boiling-point of a liquid is lowered by diminishing the pressure, and that the barometric pressure varies with the height of the point of observation . The instrument consists of a cylindrical vessel in which the liquid, usually water, is boiled, surmounted by a jacketed column, in the outer partitions of which the vapour circulates, while in the central one a thermometer is placed . To deduce the height of the station from the observed boiling-point, it is necessary to know the relation existing between the boiling-point and pressure, and also between the pressure and height of the atmosphere .