P3 - Hydraulics Flashcards
What is interesting about how pressure is transmitted through water?
Pressure in a liquid is transmitted equally in all directions
Why is liquid useful for hydraulics?
It is imcompressible (volume and density always stay the same) which means that pressure can transmitted through a liquid
What is the unit of pressure?
Pascals (Pa)
Equal to N/m^2
What is the formula for pressure?
Pressure = force / cross-sectional area
P = F / A
What do hydraulic systems do?
They work as force multipliers mainly
They can also transfer force from one place to another but this is less important for GCSE
How do force multiplying hydraulic systems work?
A small force pushes a piston with a small cross-sectional area that puts pressure on a liquid that pushes another piston with a larger cross-sectional area
Since force = pressure * area and the pressure always stays constant, the force pushing the larger piston is larger than the force put into the first piston
