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I was reading a manual of an oscilloscope, and I noticed in working environment section it mentions something about altitude. What does altitude have to do with oscilloscopes?
It says operating less than 3km and non operating less than 15km
The oscilloscope is Rigol DS1000Z.
In order to comply with some safety regulations and standards, especially related to creepage and clearance, the insulation characteristic of the air is considered. At high altitudes, the air's insulating characteristic changes, and so does the the electronics' behaviour. In the case of oscillocopes, it is probably even more sensitive due to its high speed electronics / bandwidth and the possibility of reducing the isolation between some traces or components (source of noise due to coupling).
More to that in here
Your oscilloscope probably depends on proper convection to eliminate heat from the electronics. As the air gets thinner it is less able to remove heat from the components, so there might be a possibility of overheating at high altitudes.
The spec sheet gives a transient voltage rating of 1000V. With a tight circuit layout, necessary for fast response, that may arc at high altitude.
It is essentially certifying it (or not) for use in an aircraft for test purposes. This assumes it's used in an unpressurised cabin. For a pressurised cabin you can go with the effective altitude for comparison with the specification limit.
You should also beware of unusual atmospheric gasses at higher altitudes, often caused by the effects of the bright sunshine, e.g. ozone O3.
