Overview
ISO 5843-6:1985 - Aerospace - List of equivalent terms - Part 6: Standard atmosphere is a multilingual glossary that standardizes vocabulary used in aerospace engineering for the standard atmosphere and related atmospheric concepts. Prepared by ISO/TC 20 (Aircraft and space vehicles), this part of the ISO 5843 series provides equivalent terms in English, French, Russian and German, with the English entries presented in alphabetical order. (The published document runs to 19 pages.)
Key topics and requirements
- Multilingual terminology: Presents equivalent terms in English, French, Russian and German to support consistent international usage.
- Alphabetical presentation: The list is given in English in alphabetical order to aid lookup and cross-reference.
- Scope limitation: This part focuses specifically on the vocabulary associated with the standard atmosphere (e.g., pressure altitude, density altitude, geopotential altitude, temperature inversion, ionosphere, exosphere).
- Official-language priority: While German terms were included at the request of ISO/TC 20 and published by the German member body (DIN), only terms in the three official ISO languages (English, French, Russian) are considered ISO authoritative terms.
- Prepared by ISO/TC 20: Reflects consensus terminology agreed by the international technical committee responsible for aircraft and space vehicles.
Technical topics covered (examples)
The glossary includes, among others:
- Altitude concepts: geometric altitude, geopotential altitude, pressure altitude, density altitude
- Atmospheric states and types: standard atmosphere, ICAO standard atmosphere, international standard atmosphere, tropospheric/mesospheric/exospheric layers
- Thermodynamic and gas concepts: specific and universal gas constants, ideal-gas equation, Avogadro constant, Loschmidt’s number
- Moisture and radiation: absolute humidity, specific humidity, ozone content, atmospheric absorption and flux
- Measurement and data terms: raw/processed/averaged/telemetered data, barometric and temperature data
- Ionization and chemistry: ionosphere, molecular ionization, atmospheric chemistry and composition
Applications and who uses it
- Aerospace engineers and designers using consistent atmospheric terminology in technical specifications and calculations
- Avionics and flight-operations personnel referencing standard-atmosphere definitions (e.g., pressure altitude)
- Technical translators and multilingual documentation teams preparing international manuals and standards
- Atmospheric scientists, aerospace educators, and regulatory or certification bodies requiring harmonized vocabulary
- Standardization bodies and committees aligning terminology across publications (e.g., ICAO and ISO)
Related standards
- ISO 5843 (other parts): this document is Part 6 of the ISO 5843 series (equivalent terms for aerospace).
- ICAO Standard Atmosphere: referenced as a standard atmosphere type within the glossary.
Keywords: ISO 5843-6, standard atmosphere, aerospace vocabulary, equivalent terms, multilingual glossary, ICAO standard atmosphere, pressure altitude, geopotential altitude, ISO/TC 20.
