Pressure: Why Force Alone Doesn't Tell You If Something Breaks

Push a nail head-first and it won't go in. Push with the same force on the point and it does. Pressure is force divided by area, and that one idea explains hydraulics, snowshoes, submarines and why a pressure vessel is round.

The video shows Pascal's principle multiplying force in a hydraulic jack, atmospheric pressure, and the hoop stress in a cylinder.

In this video

• Pressure as force over area
• Pascal's principle and hydraulic multiplication
• Atmospheric and depth pressure
• Why pressure vessels are cylinders and spheres