Scale height
= Scale height
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A scale height is a characteristic distance over which a vertically stratified physical quantity varies. For a decreasing exponential $q(z)=q_0e^{-z/H}$, it is $H=-(d\log q/dz)^{-1}$. The local <pressure scale height> applies this logarithmic measure to <pressure>; density and pressure scale heights need not coincide when <temperature> varies.