8.

2 Fluid statics
Fluid is any substance that can flow, while the term fluid includes liquid & gases.

Density ;- the ratio of mass per unit volume. ⁄ Its SI unit is ⁄

Specific gravity (Relative density);- is the ratio of the weight of a substance to the weight of equal volume of
water.

R.d=

Pressure is defined as the magnitude of the normal force per unit surface area.

1. Pressure is a scalar quantity.

2. SI unit of pressure is Pascal, 1Pa=1 ⁄
Fluid statics
The pressure exerted at the base of the container, due to a column of liquid of depth ‘h’ &density ‘ ’ is given
by

Hence pressure for fluid at rest is;-

 Independent of the base area.

 Equal in all directions at the same level.
 Independent of the shape of the container.

Pa –atmospheric pressure. At sea level Pa =1atm=1.01*105Pa =760mmHg

Pascal’s principle
“A change in pressure applied to an enclosed fluid is transmitted undiminishedly to every point of the fluid &
the walls of the containing vessel.”

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 Archimedes’ principle
“Any object wholly or partially immersed in a liquid is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of displaced
fluid by the object”.

Surface tension;- is a property of a liquid’s surface that cause it to act like a stretched elastic skin, it is caused
by the forces of attraction between the particles of the liquid & the other substances with which it comes into
contact, or a cohesive effect at the surface of the liquid due to the forces between the liquids, atoms or
molecules. ⁄

1. Surface tension can be reduced by

 Adding detergent
 Warming the liquid.

Pressure difference across a surface film

When we observe that the surface of a liquid will tend to take

on a curved shape. And this tells there is a pressure difference

across a film, the Young-Laplace equation is given by

Capillarity action; - is the movement of a liquid along the surface of a solid caused by the attraction of
molecules of the liquid to molecules of a solid.

Meniscus;- is a curve in the surface of a liquid caused by the relative attraction of the liquid molecules to the
surface of the container.

The height ‘h’, the liquid rise or drop through the tube from the surface of the liquid is given by
- contact angle f- surface tension, r – radius of the tube.

Example
1. A 200gm of water is mixed with 160gm of liquid of r.d 1.6. The r.d of the mixture is;-
2. The base area of a box 2m2 & mass of 2000kg. Find the pressure at the beneath of the box?
3. At what depth of sea water is the pressure equal to 6.01*10 5?
4. When a 1kg metal suspended from a spring balance is immersed in alcohol ( ⁄ ),

the balance reads 8N. When the metal is immersed into the unknown liquid, the spring balance reads
9N. Find a) the density of unknown liquid? b) the density of metal?
5. A substance whose density is ( ⁄ floats in fresh water ( ⁄ ). What

fraction of its volume is submerged?

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6. In a U – tube shown below, the right hand arm is filled with mercury, while the other arm is filled with
a liquid of unknown density. Find the density of the unknown liquid?

7. What would be the ratio of the diameter of the smaller piston to the bigger piston (d/D) of a
hydraulic system so that when a force of 100N is applied at the smaller piston the force that is
produced by the bigger piston would be 10000N?
8. Find the height of a column of water in lead glass tube of radius 5mm. The surface tension is 0.52N/m,
the contact angle is 00 & the density is ⁄

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