Pressure is the force acting per unit area; for the same force, a smaller area means greater pressure. The unit is the pascal (Pa, N/m²).
Enter the force (N) and the area (m²) it acts on to instantly get the pressure (Pa). Often used in fluid mechanics and structural design.
For example, a force of 100 N acting on an area of 2 m² produces a pressure of 50 Pa.
Pressure is the force applied per unit area, measured in pascals (Pa), where one pascal is one newton per square metre. Spread the same force over a larger area and the pressure falls.
Enter the force and the area to calculate the pressure, or find the force needed to achieve a target pressure.
Pressure is force divided by area, which is why a sharp knife cuts and snowshoes stop you sinking: the same weight spread over more area lowers the pressure. A 600 N person on two 0.025 m² shoes exerts 12 kPa, while the same person on one heel of 0.0001 m² exerts 6,000 kPa.
P = F / A (1 Pa = 1 N/m²)A sharp edge concentrates the same force on a much smaller area, producing far higher pressure at the blade. That is also why snowshoes — the opposite case — spread weight over a large area to avoid sinking.
Standard atmospheric pressure at sea level is about 101,325 Pa, or 1013 hPa (1 atmosphere). It decreases roughly 12% for every 1,000 metres of altitude, which is why airliners are pressurised.
It rises linearly as ρgh, so at 10 m of water the gauge pressure is about 98 kPa — nearly one extra atmosphere over the 101 kPa at the surface. That is why divers must equalise their ears on the way down.
Force is measured in newtons and pressure in pascals, one pascal being one newton per square metre. A car tyre at 220 kPa means 220,000 newtons pushing on every square metre of contact area.
2026-10-19