Abrupt changes in air pressure in the vicinity of a conductor with flowing electric current

•A correlation between a current pulse and a pressure variation in a surrounding air layer.•A pressure jump upon switching off a current is not typical for a usual cooling.•Even a pulse with a short duration and small amplitude influences the pressure distinctly.•The pressure jumps appear also upon changing an alternating current.•The pressure variations under weak currents are comparable with large meteorological ones. A change of thermodynamic parameters of surrounding air is experimentally investigated in the vicinity of a metal conductor in which electric current flows. Substantial variations of pressure that are comparable with large meteorological variations are experimentally observed upon flowing a direct current pulse with a small amplitude and alternating currents of an industrial frequency through the conductor. Such significant and fast variations of the pressure occur at the instant the current in the conductor changes. Even current pulses with a short duration influence the pressure distinctly. Jumps of the pressure are experimentally observed in an investigated volume upon both building up the current amplitude and switching off the current pulse. These jumps are not typical for a usual cooling or heating of air mixture. It is expected that an exact correspondence between current pulses and the pressure variations makes it possible to create new technical equipment. The possibility of applying experimentally obtained results in device physics and nanotechnology science is of special interest.