Hydrostatics in ancient Greece and Rome

Pascal's contribution in hydrostatics

Pascal made contributions to developments in both hydrostatics and hydrodynamics. Pascal's Law is a fundamental principle of fluid mechanics that states that any pressure applied to the surface of a fluid is transmitted uniformly throughout the fluid in all directions, in such a way that initial variations in pressure are not changed.

Hydrostatic pressure

In a fluid at rest, all frictional and inertial stresses vanish and the state of stress of the system is called hydrostatic. When this condition of V = 0 is applied to the Navier–Stokes equations, the gradient of pressure becomes a function of body forces only. For a barotropic fluid in a conservative force field like a gravitational force field, the pressure exerted by a fluid at equilibrium becomes a function of force exerted by gravity.

The hydrostatic pressure can be determined from a control volume analysis of an infinitesimally small cube of fluid. Since pressure is defined as the force exerted on a test area (p = F/A, with p: pressure, F: force normal to area A, A: area), and the only force acting on any such small cube of fluid is the weight of the fluid column above it, hydrostatic pressure can be calculated according to the following formula:

${\displaystyle p(z)-p(z_{0})={\frac {1}{A}}\int _{z_{0}}^{z}dz'\iint _{A}dx'dy'\,\rho (z')g(z')=\int _{z_{0}}^{z}dz'\,\rho (z')g(z'),}$

where

• p is the hydrostatic pressure (Pa),
• ρ is the fluid density (kg/m³),
• g is gravitational acceleration (m/s²),
• A is the test area (m²),
• z is the height (parallel to the direction of gravity) of the test area (m),
• z₀ is the height of the zero reference point of the pressure (m).

For water and other liquids, this integral can be simplified significantly for many practical applications, based on the following two assumptions. Since many liquids can be considered incompressible, a reasonable good estimation can be made from assuming a constant density throughout the liquid. The same assumption cannot be made within a gaseous environment. Also, since the height h of the fluid column between z and z₀ is often reasonably small compared to the radius of the Earth, one can neglect the variation of g. Under these circumstances, the integral is simplified into the formula

${\displaystyle p-p_{0}=\rho gh,}$

where h is the height z − z₀ of the liquid column between the test volume and the zero reference point of the pressure. This formula is often called Stevin's law.^[4][5] Note that this reference point should lie at or below the surface of the liquid. Otherwise, one has to split the integral into two (or more) terms with the constant ρ_liquid and ρ(z′)_above. For example, the absolute pressure compared to vacuum is

${\displaystyle p=\rho gH+p_{\mathrm {atm} },}$

where H is the total height of the liquid column above the test area to the surface, and p_atm is the atmospheric pressure, i.e., the pressure calculated from the remaining integral over the air column from the liquid surface to infinity. This can easily be visualized using a pressure prism.

Hydrostatic pressure has been used in the preservation of foods in a process called pascalization.^[6]

Medicine

In medicine, hydrostatic pressure in blood vessels is the pressure of the blood against the wall. It is the opposing force to oncotic pressure. In capillaries, hydrostatic pressure (also known as capillary blood pressure) is higher than the opposing “colloid osmotic pressure” in blood—a “constant” pressure primarily produced by circulating albumin—at the arteriolar end of the capillary. This pressure forces plasma and nutrients out of the capillaries and into surrounding tissues. Fluid and the cellular wastes in the tissues enter the capillaries at the venule end, where the hydrostatic pressure is less than the osmotic pressure in the vessel.^[7]

Atmospheric pressure

Statistical mechanics shows that, for a pure ideal gas of constant temperature in a gravitational field, T, its pressure, p will vary with height, h, as

${\displaystyle p(h)=p(0)e^{-{\frac {Mgh}{kT}}}}$

where

• g is the acceleration due to gravity
• T is the absolute temperature
• k is Boltzmann constant
• M is the mass of a single molecule of gas
• p is the pressure
• h is the height

This is known as the barometric formula, and may be derived from assuming the pressure is hydrostatic.

If there are multiple types of molecules in the gas, the partial pressure of each type will be given by this equation. Under most conditions, the distribution of each species of gas is independent of the other species.

Buoyancy

Any body of arbitrary shape which is immersed, partly or fully, in a fluid will experience the action of a net force in the opposite direction of the local pressure gradient. If this pressure gradient arises from gravity, the net force is in the vertical direction opposite that of the gravitational force. This vertical force is termed buoyancy or buoyant force and is equal in magnitude, but opposite in direction, to the weight of the displaced fluid. Mathematically,

${\displaystyle F=\rho gV}$

where ρ is the density of the fluid, g is the acceleration due to gravity, and V is the volume of fluid directly above the curved surface.^[8] In the case of a ship, for instance, its weight is balanced by pressure forces from the surrounding water, allowing it to float. If more cargo is loaded onto the ship, it would sink more into the water – displacing more water and thus receive a higher buoyant force to balance the increased weight.

Discovery of the principle of buoyancy is attributed to Archimedes.

Hydrostatic force on submerged surfaces

The horizontal and vertical components of the hydrostatic force acting on a submerged surface are given by the following formula:^[8]

${\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}F_{\mathrm {h} }&=p_{\mathrm {c} }A\\F_{\mathrm {v} }&=\rho gV\end{aligned}}}$

where

• p_c is the pressure at the centroid of the vertical projection of the submerged surface
• A is the area of the same vertical projection of the surface
• ρ is the density of the fluid
• g is the acceleration due to gravity
• V is the volume of fluid directly above the curved surface

Capillary action

When liquids are constrained in vessels whose dimensions are small, compared to the relevant length scales, surface tension effects become important leading to the formation of a meniscus through capillary action. This capillary action has profound consequences for biological systems as it is part of one of the two driving mechanisms of the flow of water in plant xylem, the transpirational pull.

Hanging drops

Without surface tension, drops would not be able to form. The dimensions and stability of drops are determined by surface tension. The drop's surface tension is directly proportional to the cohesion property of the fluid.