Mechanical Systems: Pressure and Hydraulics

Vocabulary and key concepts regarding pressure, fluid mechanics, and hydraulic systems derived from the lecture transcript.

Pressure

Defined as force per unit area, calculated using the formula $p = \frac{F}{A}$, where force is measured in Newtons ($N$).

Indigenous Snowshoes

Tools developed thousands of years ago by peoples including the Cree, Inuit, Dene, and Anishinaabe to move efficiently on snow by spreading weight over a larger surface area to decrease pressure.

Blaise Pascal

A French mathematician ($1623-1662$) who explored pressure within fluids and for whom the standard unit of pressure is named.

Pascal ($Pa$)

The unit of pressure equivalent to one Newton per square meter ($1\,N/m^2$).

Fluid Pressure and Depth

A characteristic where pressure increases with depth because lower points have more weight ($N$) of the fluid above them pushing down.

Direction of Fluid Pressure

A property of fluids where pressure acts in all directions, both vertically and horizontally.

Hydraulic Pressure

The pressure created in a liquid when a force is applied, which is transmitted equally in all directions ($P_1 = P_2$) throughout the fluid.

Mechanical Advantage (Hydraulics)

The ratio that describes how a system multiplies force, calculated as $\frac{\text{Output Force (N)}}{\text{Input Force (N)}}$.

Hydraulic Trade-off

The principle that hydraulics multiply force by reducing how far the output moves; the small piston must be pushed down farther while the large piston moves a shorter distance upward.

Pressure Input ($P_1$)

Calculated by the formula \frac{\text{input force (N)}}{\text{input area (m^2)}}.

Pressure Output ($P_2$)

Calculated by the formula \frac{\text{output force (N)}}{\text{output area (m^2)}}.