Hydraulics | GCSE Physics | Doodle Science
GCSE Science
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Hydraulics might sound complicated but all they are, is another force multiplier. They utilise the fact that liquids are virtually incompressible, which means when you compress them, the pressure you apply to one point of the liquid is transmitted equally in all directions.
For example if you have a balloon with a few holes in it and you squeeze the top of the balloon, the water will squirt out of all of the holes. This shows that the pressure applied at the top of the balloon must have been transmitted equally to all other parts of the liquid.
In order to work with hydraulics, the equation Pressure = Force/ Cross sectional area is needed. Where pressure is measured in Pascals, force in newtons and the cross sectional area in square metres. A hydraulic system works by applying a small force to one piston to produce a much larger force to a second piston. For example, if one piston has a cross sectional area of 0.001m^2 and a force of 15N is applied to it, then since the pressure is transmitted equally to the other piston of area 0.01m^2 then the force acting on the second piston is 150N
Hydraulic systems are used in all kinds of things such as car braking systems, car jacks and on the landing gear of some aircraft. All these applications take a small effort force and produce a large load. And it’s a good job too, because I wouldn’t want to change a tyre without hydraulics.
References:
1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/subjec...
2. CGP GCSE Physics AQA Revision Guide.