Pascal's law

In the physical sciences, Pascal's law or Pascal's principle states that "pressure exerted anywhere in a confined fluid is transmitted equally and undiminished in all directions throughout the fluid."^[1]

where

ΔP is the hydrostatic pressure (given in pascals in the SI system), or the difference in pressure at two points within a fluid column, due to the weight of the fluid;

ρ is the fluid density (in kilograms per cubic meter in the SI system);

g is acceleration due to gravity (normally using the sea level acceleration due to Earth's gravity in meters per second squared);

Δh is the height of fluid above the point of measurement, or the difference in elevation between the two points within the fluid column (in meters in SI).

The intuitive explanation of this formula is that the change in pressure between two elevations is due to the weight of the fluid between the elevations.

Note that the variation with height does not depend on any additional pressures. Therefore Pascal's law can be interpreted as saying that any change in pressure applied at any given point of the fluid is transmitted undiminished throughout the fluid. Equation: (P₁)(V₁) = (P₂)(V₂)

Applications

• The underlying principle of the hydraulic press
• Used for amplifying the force of the driver's foot in the braking system of most cars and trucks.
• Used in artesian wells, water towers, and dams.
• Scuba divers must understand this principle. At a depth of 10 meters under water, pressure is twice the atmospheric pressure at sea level, and increases by about 105 kPa for each increase of 10 m depth.

Also see

• Pascal (unit)
• Fluid statics
• Pascal's contributions to the physical sciences

References