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Hydrostatic Pressure: Screencasts

Derives the hydrostatic pressure equation from the equation for a fluid at rest. 

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Derives equations for hydrostatic pressure for compressible fluids. 

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Important Equations:

Hydrostatic pressure for an incompressible fluid:

P1=P2+γflh=P2+γfl(z2z1)

where P1 is the pressure at z1P2 is the pressure at z2, γfl is the specific weight of the fluid, and h is the difference in height between z2 and z1.

For a compressible isothermal ideal gas, the hydrostatic pressure is:

P2=P1exp(g(z2z1)RT0)

where g is the acceleration due to gravity, R is the gas constant, and T0 is the temperature.

For a compressible non-isothermal ideal gas, an equation for temperature needs to be assumed to derive the equation for hydrostatic pressure. 

T=T0βz

P2=P1[T0βz2T0βz1]g/Rβ

where T0 is the temperature when z=0, and β is the rate of temperature change with elevation.