VIS U AL P HYS ICS

S ch ool of P h ysi cs
U n i v er si t y of S yd n ey Au st r a l i a

FLUID PRESSURE p

Visualisation

The oarfish may be the creature that gave rise

to the legends about "sea serpents". This long,
skinny fish, with its strange-looking head
covered in protrusions and reaching lengths
perhaps as long as 15 m,

Life in the deep sea must adapt to unique

conditions of low or no light, high pressure,
low energy- except at hot vents (superheated
temperatures). One unexplained but fairly
common feature of deep animals is gigantism
(such as oarfish, the giant squid, etc.). Less
than 1% of the deep-sea has been explored.
What might be left undiscovered?

F
p=
! Definition Fluid pressure
A
Provided that an object immersed in a fluid is not moving, the
force on each small part of the contact surface is perpendicular
to the surface so the interaction can be described completely in
terms of pressure. Fluid pressure always acts perpendicular to
any surface irrespective of how the surface is oriented. If there
is relative motion between the fluid and solid object, the force
has components parallel to the surface and the interaction is
not simply described by the pressure. Pressure has no intrinsic
direction of its own (pressure is a scalar).

a03/p1/fluids/pressure3.doc 1
 The pressure in a fluid can be defined
as the ratio of the force exerted by the
fluid to the area over which it is
exerted. To get the pressure at a point
you need to take the limit as this area
approaches zero. Because of the weak
cohesive forces between the molecules
of the fluid, the only force that can be
applied by the fluid on a submerged
object is one that tends to compress it.
This means the force of the fluid acts
perpendicular to the surface of the
object at any point.

Pressure increases with depth in a fluid

How long can your snorkel be?

?
Why do your ears feel different when you dive into deep water?
Why does atmospheric pressure change as you go up a
mountain?
How does a barometer work?

p0 pressure acting on surface

Weight of
h column
of liquid
F
A
Liquid – uniform density ρ

a03/p1/fluids/pressure3.doc 2
 pressure at depth h =
pressure acting on surface + pressure due to height
of liquid

ph = p0 + F / A

F = weight of column liquid of cross sectional area A

F = m g where m of liquid in column
m = ρ V = ρ (A h)
F/A=ρgh

! ph = p0 + ρ g h (equation only applies for static fluids)

ph ph

! p0’

p0 p0

(0,0) (0,0)
h h
Linear relationship between pressure and depth.
If the pressure at the surface increases then the pressure at
a depth h also increases by the same amount.

Snorkelling

a03/p1/fluids/pressure3.doc 3
 There is a maximum depth at which a diver can breathe
through a snorkel tube. The snorkel connects the air in the
lungs to the atmosphere at the surface. The pressure inside
the lungs is atmospheric pressure while outside the lungs
(diver is immersed in water) the pressure is greater than
atmospheric pressure. As the depth increases, so does the
pressure difference tending to collapse the diver’s lungs.
Typically snorkel tubes are 200 mm long.

The pressure outside the lungs at depths of 200 mm in

seawater is:
ph = patm + ρ g h
ph = 1.013×105 + (1030)(9.8)(0.200) Pa
ph = 1.033×105 Pa
Pressure difference (outside – inside)
∆p = 1.033×105 - 1.013×105 Pa
∆p = 2000 Pa

The lungs cannot withstand pressure differences much greater than this.
So for snorkel tubes > 200 mm the lungs collapse - a process called lung
squeeze.

A scuba diver breathing from compressed air tanks can operate at

? greater depths than can a snorkeler, since the pressure of the air inside
the scuba diver’s lungs is increased to match the external pressure of
the water by the scuba regulator. A scuba diver's lungs can rupture if he
doesn't breathe while surfacing? Why? If a diver holds his breathe, the
pressure inside the lungs is > atmospheric pressure ⇒ lungs rupture.

You dive deep down into the water. Does it matter whether it is
? in the ocean or a swimming pool?
The pressure within a uniform stationary fluid is the same at all

! points in the same horizontal plane.

a03/p1/fluids/pressure3.doc 4
 h

The pressure exerted by a static fluid depends only upon the depth of
the fluid, the density of the fluid, and the acceleration of gravity

ph = p0 + ρ g h

Static pressure does not depend upon mass or surface area of liquid
and the shape of container due to pressure exerted by walls.

Can we make a rough estimate of atmospheric pressure?

? What are meant by the terms high pressure and low systems? What
weather is associated with each of these?

Crude model:
The atmospheric pressure at ground level is due to weight of air above.
Assume the air is in a column of uniform density (ρ = 1.2 kgm-3) and the

a03/p1/fluids/pressure3.doc 5
 height of the column is equal the height of the troposphere (h = 10 km).

patm = ρ g h = (1.2)(9.8)(104) = 105 Pa

Actual value: patm = 1.013×105 Pa

Gas pressure
A gas exerts a pressure on the walls of a container because of the
continual chaotic motion of the molecules of the gas. For an ideal
gas, the gas pressure can be described by the equations (real

! gases resemble an ideal gas to some extent)

p=NkT/V=nRT/V

where p is the gas pressure (Pa), V is the volume of the gas (m3), T is
the gas temperature (K), N is the number of molecule and n is the
number of moles of the gas (mol), k is the known as the Boltzmann
constant and R the Universal gas constant.

Boltzmann constant k = 1.38x10-23 J.K-1

Universal gas constant R = 8.314 J.mol-1.K-1

k = R / NA R = k NA

Avogadro's constant NA = 6.023x1023 mol-1

! Gas laws (fixed quantity of gas)

Boyle's Law (constant temperature) p = constant / V
Charles Law (constant pressure) V = constant × T
(constant volume) p = constant × T

How do we breath?
? The lungs are surrounded by a sealed thoracic cavity. According to Boyle’s law
an expansion of this cavity (volume increase) will result in a decrease in the intra-
thoracic pressure. Since lung tissue is elastic they expand with a decrease in
pressure within the lungs. This decreased pressure inside the lungs allows air to
move into the lungs from the outside. This event occurs when the diaphragm and
intercostal muscles contract.

a03/p1/fluids/pressure3.doc 6
 Isotherms for an ideal gas

! 180

160
Isothermals pV = constant

140

120
pressure p (kPa)

100 K
100
200 K
300 K
80 400 K

60

40

20

0
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40
3
volume V (m )

Falling air ⇒
compressed
(adiabatic convergence divergence
process) ⇒ rise
in temperature
⇒ inhibits
formation of
clouds ⇒ rain
unlikely (great
desert regions) divergence convergence
HIGH - more uniform LOW - less uniform
conditions - inhibits cloud conditions - encourages cloud
Rising air ⇒ formation formation
expands
(adiabatic
process ) ⇒ fall
in temperature
⇒ formation of
clouds ⇒ more sunshine
likely to rain

a03/p1/fluids/pressure3.doc 7
 How can you measure the pressure of a gas?
?
Manometer

! D

A
B C

Pressure at D pD = patm

Equilibrium ⇒ gas pressure at A = pressure at point B

pA = pB

B and C are at the same level ⇒ pB = pC = pA

But pressure at C pC = patm + ρ g h

where ρ is the density of the fluid within the arms of the

manometer

∴ absolute gas pressure pA = patm + ρ g h

∴ gauge gas pressure (pA - patm) = ρ g h

! Manometer measures gauge pressure ρ g h

a03/p1/fluids/pressure3.doc 8
 What is a simple way to measure atmospheric pressure?
?
Mercury Manometer
A
!

h
patm patm

B C

pressure at B pB = patm

pressure at A pA = 0 (vacuum: mercury vapour pressure is

negligible)

B and C are at the same level ⇒ pB = pC = patm

But pC = pA + ρ g h = 0 + ρ g h

∴ patm = ρ g h

For example patm = 760 mmHg

ρ = 13.6 × 103 kg.m-3

g = 9.8 m.s-2
h = 760 mm = 760×10-3 m
patm = (13.6 × 103)(9.8)(760×10-3 ) Pa = 1.01×105 Pa

a03/p1/fluids/pressure3.doc 9
 How do you measure blood pressure?
?
→
See Howstuffworks

sphygmomanometer

a03/p1/fluids/pressure3.doc 10