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Fluid Mechanics

Pascal's Principle (Hydraulic Lift)

An applied pressure change is transmitted throughout an enclosed static fluid.

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Source & review

Difficulty

Beginner

Read time

5 min

Prerequisites

Basic algebra and consistent SI units

Review statusNeeds review

Source

OpenStax, College Physics 2e, §11.5 (Paul Peter Urone and Roger Hinrichs)

Textbook reference retained from the OpenFormulaGraph dataset; adaptation credits and license are provided below.

Adapted from OpenFormulaGraph, under CC BY 4.0.

FormuLab adapted the notation, explanations, assumptions, and topic placement, and expanded the numerical check into a worked example.

Definition
Understanding the core concept

An applied pressure change is transmitted throughout an enclosed static fluid. An ideal hydraulic lift uses a larger output area to produce a larger output force. The output piston moves a shorter distance, preserving energy in the ideal case.

Variables & Units
Understanding each component
SymbolMeaningUnits
Input force magnitude
Input piston area
Output force magnitude
Output piston area
Real-World Applications
Where this formula is used in practice

Hydraulic lifts

Calculate ideal force multiplication.

Hydraulic presses

Relate piston force to piston area.

Worked Example
Step-by-step calculation with real numbers

Problem

An ideal hydraulic lift has input area 0.0100 m² and output area 1.00 m². Find the output force for an applied input force of 10.0 N.

Given

Solution

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Final Answer

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