Convert pound-force/inch² [lbf/in²] to psi [psi] • Pressure, Stress, Young’s Modulus Converter • Common Unit Converters • Compact Calculator • Online Unit Converters (2024)

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Overview

Pressure is defined as force per unit of area. If the same force is applied to two areas, a smaller and a larger one, the pressure would be greater for the smaller area. You will probably agree that it is less scary to be stepped on by someone wearing running shoes than by someone wearing stilettos. For example, if you try pushing a sharp knife down through a carrot or a tomato, you will cut it. The area where the force is applied is small, so the pressure is high enough to cut through the object. If, on the other hand, you use a blunt knife, you will not be able to cut through because the area is greater and the pressure is lower as a result.

The SI unit for pressure is the pascal, which is a newton per square meter.

Gauge Pressure

In some cases, pressure of gases is measured as the difference between the total or absolute pressure and the atmospheric pressure. This is known as gauge pressure, and it is the pressure measured when determining the air pressure in car tires. Measuring devices often show gauge pressure, although absolute pressure sensors are also in use.

Atmospheric Pressure

Atmospheric or air pressure is the pressure of air in a given environment. It usually refers to the weight of the column of atmospheric air above the unit surface area. Atmospheric pressure affects weather and temperature. Considerable changes in the atmospheric pressure cause discomfort for people and animals. The decrease in atmospheric pressure can cause psychological and physical discomfort for people and animals, or even death. For this reason, airplane cabins, which would otherwise experience low air pressure at cruising heights, are artificially pressurized.

Atmospheric pressure decreases with the increase in altitude. People and animals, who live at high altitudes, for example in the Himalayas, adapt to the low pressure. Travelers, on the other hand, often need to take precautionary measures to avoid discomfort. Some people, such as mountaineers, are affected by altitude sickness, caused by oxygen deficiency in the blood. This condition can become chronic with prolonged exposure. It typically happens at altitudes above 2,400 meters. In severe cases, people may be affected by high altitude cerebral or pulmonary edema. To prevent altitude-related health problems, medical professionals recommend avoiding depressants such as alcohol and sleeping pills, and also to hydrate well, and ascending to higher altitudes at a slow pace, for example on foot, instead of using transportation. Additional recommendations include a diet high in carbohydrates, and resting well, especially for individuals who ascended quickly. This will allow the body to combat the oxygen shortage, which results from low atmospheric pressure, by producing more red blood cells to carry oxygen, and by increasing heart and respiratory rates, among other adaptations.

Emergency treatment for severe altitude sickness has to be provided immediately. It is paramount to bring the patient to lower altitudes where the pressure is higher, preferably to an altitude below 2400 meters above sea level. Treatment also includes medication and the use of the Gamow Bag. It is a portable lightweight container that can be pressurized by using a foot pump. The patient is put inside this bag to simulate lower altitudes. This is an emergency treatment and the patient still needs to be transported to lower altitudes.

Low atmospheric pressure is also used by athletes, who sleep in simulated high-altitude environments but exercise in normal conditions. This helps their bodies to adapt to high altitudes and start producing greater amounts of red blood cells, which, in turn, increases the amount of oxygen carried through their body, and enhances their athletic abilities. For this purpose athletes often use altitude tents or canopies, which have low atmospheric pressure inside.

Pressure Suits

Astronauts and pilots who have to work at high altitudes use pressure suits to compensate for the low air pressure. Full-pressure suits are used in space, while partial-pressure suits, which provide counter-pressure and assist breathing at high altitudes are used by pilots.

Hydrostatic Pressure

Hydrostatic pressure is the pressure of fluid caused by the force of gravity. It is an important factor not only in engineering and physics, but also in medicine. For example, blood pressure is the hydrostatic pressure of blood on the blood vessel walls. It usually refers to arterial pressure and is represented by two numbers: systolic or maximum pressure and diastolic or minimum pressure during a heartbeat. The instrument used to measure blood pressure is called a sphygmomanometer. Millimeters of mercury are used as units for blood pressure measurements, even in countries like the USA and the UK, where inches are used for measuring length.

A Pythagorean cup is an interesting device, which uses the principles of hydrostatic pressure. According to legend, it was designed by Pythagoras to moderate wine drinking. Other sources mention that this cup was meant to regulate the drinking of water during a drought. It usually has a stem and always has a dome inside of it, which allows liquid to enter from the bottom through an embedded pipe. This pipe runs from the bottom of the stem of the cup to the top of the dome, then bends, and opens into the cup, as in the illustration. Liquid enters the pipe through this opening. The other side of the pipe that runs through the stem also has an opening at the bottom of the stem. The design and operating principles of a Pythagorean cup are similar to the ones in modern toilet bowls. If the liquid that fills the cup is above the top of the pipe, then it spills through the bottom of the cup, due to hydrostatic pressure. If the liquid is below that level, one can use the cup in a conventional way.

Pressure in Geology

Pressure is a critical element in geology. The formation of gemstones requires pressure, both for the natural and laboratory-made synthetic gemstones. Crude oil is also formed by intense pressure and heat from remnants of plants and animals. In contrast to gemstones, which mostly form in rock formations, oil is generally formed in the beds of water such as rivers and seas. Organic material is covered with sand and silt, which gradually accumulates above it. The weight of the water above and the sand exert pressure. With time, these materials are buried deeper and deeper and reach several kilometers below the Earth's surface. As the temperature increases by about 25 °C per each kilometer below the surface, it reaches 50-80 °C at these depths. Depending on the total temperature and temperature fluctuation, gas may be created instead of oil.

Natural Gemstones

Gemstone formation varies, but often pressure is an important factor. Diamonds, for example, are created in the mantle of the Earth, where intense pressure and temperatures are present. They then emerge on or near the surface during volcanic eruptions, when magma carries them up. Some diamonds come to Earth inside meteorites, and scientists speculate that their formation on other planets is similar to Earth.

Synthetic Gemstones

The synthetic gemstone industry on the industrial scale started in the 1950s, and it is currently expanding. Some consumers still prefer mined gemstones, but there is a shift in consumer preferences, especially because of the many problems with gemstone mining that came to light recently. Many consumers choose synthetic gemstones not only because of the lower price, but also because they believe that lab-produced stones have fewer issues such as human right violations, funding wars and conflicts, and child labor.

One of the methods for growing diamonds in the laboratory, the high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) method, is by subjecting carbon to high temperature over 1000 °C and pressure of about 5 GPa. Generally, diamond seeds are used as a base and graphite is a high-purity carbon source from which the new diamond grows. This method is common, especially for making gemstones, because it is cheap compared to the alternative methods. These laboratory-grown diamonds have similar and sometimes superior properties to naturally-formed diamonds, depending on the manufacturing method. They are often colored, however.

Diamonds are widely used for industrial purposes due to their properties, especially hardness. Optical qualities, as well as heat conductivity and resistance to alkalis and acids, are also valued. Cutting tools use diamond coating, and diamond powder is included in abrasive materials. Currently, a large portion of industrial diamonds is made in the laboratories because synthetic production is cheaper than mining, and also because the demand for industrial diamonds cannot be met through mining exclusively.

Some companies now offer memorial diamonds. Those are grown from the carbon that was extracted from the hair or the cremation ashes of the deceased. The manufacturers market these diamonds as a memento to celebrate the life of loved ones, and they are gaining popularity, especially in the markets of wealthy countries such as Japan and the USA.

The High-Pressure High-Temperature (HPHT) Process

The high-pressure high-temperature process is mainly used when working with synthetic diamonds. However, it is now also used on natural diamonds to enhance or adjust their color properties. Presses of different designs can be used in the process. Cubic-type presses are the most expensive and complicated. They are mainly used for enhancing or changing colors in natural diamonds. The growth within the capsule of the press is about 0.5 carats of rough diamond per day.

References

This article was written by Kateryna Yuri

Unit Converter articles were edited and illustrated by Anatoly Zolotkov

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Pressure, Stress, Young’s Modulus Converter

Pressure is the ratio of force to the area over which that force is distributed. In other words, pressure is force per unit area applied in a direction perpendicular to the surface of an object.

Pressure may be measured in any unit of force divided by any unit of area. The SI unit of pressure is the pascal (Pa). One pascal is defined as one newton per square meter. A pressure of 1 Pa is small, therefore everyday pressures are often stated in kilopascals (1 kPa = 1000 Pa). The pressure in car tires can be in the range of 180 to 250 kPa.

In continuum mechanics, stress is a measure of the internal forces acting within a deformable body, which either reversibly or irreversibly changes its shape. It is a measure of the average force per unit area of a surface within the body on which the internal forces act. These internal forces arise as a reaction to external forces applied to the body. These internal forces are distributed continuously within the volume of the material body and result in deformation of the body shape. Beyond limits of material strength, this can lead to a permanent shape change or structural failure.

The dimension of stress is the same as that of pressure, and therefore the SI unit for stress is the pascal (Pa), which is equivalent to one newton per square meter (N/m²). In Imperial units, stress can be measured in pound-force per square inch, which is abbreviated as psi.

Using the Pressure, Stress, Young’s Modulus Converter Converter

This online unit converter allows quick and accurate conversion between many units of measure, from one system to another. The Unit Conversion page provides a solution for engineers, translators, and for anyone whose activities require working with quantities measured in different units.

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