Pascal’s Law
Pascal’s Law is one of the fundamental principles of hydraulics. Blaise Pascal
discovered that the pressure applied to any part of an enclosed liquid will be
transmitted equally in all directions through the liquid. Unlike air, hydraulic oil is
practically uncompressible*, and Pascal’s principle enables us to harness hydraulic
force, which can be extremely powerful.
*Note that it is technically possible to compress a liquid, however, a huge amount of
force is required, and the end result is compression by just a tiny amount.
Pascal’s Formula
Pascal’s formula is summed up in this simple equation.
Pressure = Force divided by Area (P = F/A)
Or, depending upon what you want to calculate, you can swap the units around …
Force = Pressure applied multiplied by the Area of the plunger (F = P x A)
In fig1 below, the area of each plunger is the same. We also know that according to
Pascal’s Law the pressure is constant throughout the fluid. Therefore, the output
force will be equal to the original force applied, and each plunger will travel the same
distance.
Fig 1: Diagram showing Pascal’s Law applied to two equal plunger/piston
sizes
Now let’s look at what happens when the surface area of the plungers are different.
As fig 2 below shows, Pascal’s law tells us that the pressure within the fluid is equal
throughout.
So, if the second plunger (A2) has an active surface area ten times greater than the
first (A1), the resultant force will be ten times greater. Note that the second plunger
will not travel as far as the smaller first one
Fig 2: Pascal’s Law applied to two different-sized plunger surface areas
The calculation example below shows the Pascal principle with some numbers
applied.
Pascal’s Law in Everyday Applications
Throughout everyday life, you can see examples of Pascal’s Law in action.
A car jack at your local auto repair shop.
A medical syringe
Hydraulic brakes used on vehicles
Airplane landing gear and flaps
For the engineer working on-site, there are many different industrial tools that use
the mechanical advantage of Pascal’s Law. Some examples include.
Heavy lifting equipment for construction and maintenance projects –
such as hydraulic gantries and jack-up systems
Load moving skates – used for materials handling and warehouse
transportation
Hydraulic torque wrenches and tensioning systems – for tightening
and loosening nuts on pipeline flanges.
Hydraulic presses – for punching shapes out of sheet metal, and
forming car body panels.
Flange maintenance tools – flange spreaders, pullers, and aligners.
Hydraulic nut splitters.
Work holding equipment at manufacturing plants.
Hydraulic cutters for accident rescue operations
MANGALPUR, BALURGHAT,
SOUTH DINAJPUR
WEST BENGAL
TOPIC : MODEL ON PASCAL’S LAW
PROJECT REPORT SUBMITTED BY
BIDIPTA HANSDA
CLASS : XI-DAFFODIL
STREAM : SCIENCE
ROLL NO. : 11
YEAR : 2024-25 [ CLASS XI SESSION]
SUBJECT : PHYSICS
GUIDED BY : ARNAV SAHA
BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that this project
entitled " Charging and Discharging of
Capacitor”. By BIDIPTA HANSDA Class
XI ( SCIENCE ) Roll no 11. In the
academic session 2024-25 submitted in
the fulfilment of Class Xl, PHYSICS
project is a Bonafide record of work
carried out under my supervision and
guidance.
____________________________________
_______________________________
Signature of external examiner Signature of internal
examiner
_______________________________________
Signature of principal
Name: Mr. Arnav Saha
Department: Physics
School: Techno India Group Public School, Balurghat
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I would like to express my humble gratitude
and regards to my PHYSICS teacher
Mr.Arnav Saha, who accompanied and
guided me in completing the project. I
would also like to express my gratitude to
our sagacious Principal Sir, Mr. S.P. Sinha
who gave me this opportunity work on the
topic," Charging and Discharging Of
Capacitors”. I am also thankful to my
parents as they played an important role in
helping me to complete this project.
___________________________
Signature of the candidate
Class- Xl ( SCIENCE )
Roll No. 11
Subject: Physics
Subject code: 042
