ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE Experiment of Magdeburg hemispheres of the engineer and the German physicist Otto von Guericke (1602-1686); one of the pioneers in the study of meteorology. Purpose of the experiment was to demonstrate the enormous pressure exerted by the atmosphere on all the bodies it contains. The two hemispheres well matched empty air turned out so well held together by atmospheric pressure that they could not even split with the force of eight teams of horses. Germany; 1656