Load vs. Pressure: Know the Difference
By Shumaila Saeed || Updated on December 25, 2023
Load refers to the force applied on an object, while pressure is the force distributed over an area.
Key Differences
Load is a force applied to an object, often causing it to move or deform. It is measured in units like Newtons or pounds. Pressure, on the other hand, is the distribution of force over a surface area, typically expressed in units like Pascals or PSI.
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Nov 13, 2023
In the context of structures, load refers to the weight or force exerted on a component, which can be static or dynamic. Pressure is the intensity of this force as it is spread over an area, crucial in determining how a structure withstands the force.
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When considering materials, load often pertains to the force applied to stretch, compress, or bend them. Pressure is important in understanding how this force is distributed across the material’s surface, affecting its behavior and durability.
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In mechanical systems, load can refer to the weight or force a mechanism must support or move. Pressure is a key factor in fluid dynamics, as it influences the flow and behavior of liquids and gases in these systems.
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Environmental factors, such as wind or water, exert a load on structures or objects. The pressure resulting from this load is vital in designing buildings or vehicles to resist or harness these forces efficiently.
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Comparison Chart
Role in Structures
Weight or force on a component.
Intensity of force over area.
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Material Behavior
Affects deformation or movement.
Influences distribution on surface.
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Mechanical and Fluid Systems
Weight or force to support or move.
Affects fluid flow and behavior.
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Load and Pressure Definitions
Pressure
Force per unit area.
The pressure at the bottom of the ocean is extremely high.
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Load
Amount of work a system must handle.
The server crashed under the heavy load of user requests.
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Pressure
Urgent demand or stress.
She felt a lot of pressure to finish the project on time.
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Load
Electrical power consumption.
The generator’s load increased during the blackout.
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Pressure
Atmospheric or gas force exerted on a surface.
The barometer measures atmospheric pressure.
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Load
The overall force to which a structure is subjected in supporting a weight or mass or in resisting externally applied forces.
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Load
Something that is carried, as by a vehicle, person, or animal
A load of firewood.
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Pressure
The application of continuous force by one body on another that it is touching; compression.
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Pressure
Abbr. P(Physics)Force applied over a surface, measured as force per unit area.
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Load
The share of work allocated to or required of a person, machine, group, or organization.
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Pressure
A compelling or constraining influence, such as persuasion or negative attitudes, on the mind or will
Felt pressure to conform.
Peer-group pressure.
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Load
The amount of material that can be inserted into a device or machine at one time
The washing machine has a full load.
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Pressure
An influence acting as a source of distress or hardship
Economic pressures forcing people to work two jobs.
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Pressure
(Sports) Sustained, effective play that puts an opponent at a disadvantage
Defensive pressure forced the quarterback to throw interceptions.
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Pressure
The condition of being subjected to physical, mental, social, or economic distress
Doesn't work well under pressure.
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Pressure
A physical sensation produced by compression of a part of the body.
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Pressure
(Archaic) A mark made by application of force or weight; an impression.
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Pressure
To force or try to force, as by influence or persuasion
The salesman pressured us to buy the car right away.
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Load
A fee that a mutual fund charges to an investor when the investor purchases or redeems shares in the fund.
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Pressure
A pressing; a force applied to a surface.
Apply pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding.
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Load
Often loads(Informal) A great number or amount
There were loads of people at the parade.
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Pressure
A contrasting force or impulse of any kind
The pressure of poverty; the pressure of taxes; the pressure of motives on the mind; the pressure of civilization.
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Pressure
Distress.
She has felt pressure lately because her boss expects her to get the job done by the first.
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Load
To put (something) into or onto a structure or conveyance
Loading grain onto a train.
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Load
To put something into or onto (a structure or conveyance)
Loaded the tanker with crude oil.
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Pressure
(physics) The amount of force that is applied over a given area divided by the size of this area; force per unit area.
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Load
To provide or fill nearly to overflowing; heap
Loaded the table with food.
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Pressure
(transitive) To encourage or heavily exert force or influence.
Do not let anyone pressure you into buying something you do not want.
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Load
To give worries or difficulties to; weigh down; burden
Was loaded with responsibility.
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Pressure
The act of pressing, or the condition of being pressed; compression; a squeezing; a crushing; as, a pressure of the hand.
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Load
To insert (a necessary material) into a device
Loaded rounds into the rifle.
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Pressure
A contrasting force or impulse of any kind; as, the pressure of poverty; the pressure of taxes; the pressure of motives on the mind; the pressure of civilization.
Where the pressure of danger was not felt.
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Pressure
Affliction; distress; grievance.
My people's pressures are grievous.
In the midst of his great troubles and pressures.
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Load
To charge with additional meanings, implications, or emotional import
Loaded the question to trick the witness.
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Pressure
Impression; stamp; character impressed.
All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past.
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Load
To raise the power demand in (an electrical circuit), as by adding resistance.
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Pressure
The action of a force against some obstacle or opposing force; a force in the nature of a thrust, distributed over a surface, often estimated with reference to the amount upon a unit's area.
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Load
To increase (an insurance premium or mutual fund share price) by adding expenses or sale costs.
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Pressure
The force applied to a unit area of surface; measured in pascals (SI unit) or in dynes (cgs unit);
The compressed gas exerts an increased pressure
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Load
(Computers) To transfer (data) from a storage device into a computer's memory.
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Pressure
A force that compels;
The public brought pressure to bear on the government
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Pressure
The act of pressing; the exertion of pressure;
He gave the button a press
He used pressure to stop the bleeding
At the pressing of a button
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Pressure
The state of urgently demanding notice or attention;
The press of business matters
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Load
To put or place a load into or onto a structure, device, or conveyance.
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Pressure
The somatic sensation of pressure;
The sensitivity of his skin to pressure and temperature was normal
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Load
(Computers) To be transferred from a storage device into a computer's memory.
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Pressure
An oppressive condition of physical or mental or social or economic distress
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Load
A burden; a weight to be carried.
I struggled up the hill with the heavy load in my rucksack.
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Pressure
To cause to do through pressure or necessity, by physical, moral or intellectual means :
She forced him to take a job in the city
He squeezed her for information
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Load
(figuratively) A worry or concern to be endured, especially in the phrase a load off one's mind.
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Load
A certain number of articles or quantity of material that can be transported or processed at one time.
The truck overturned while carrying a full load of oil.
She put another load of clothes in the washing machine.
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Pressure
Psychological stress or force.
The constant pressure of deadlines can be overwhelming.
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Load
A quantity of washing put into a washing machine for a wash cycle.
I put a load on before we left.
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Pressure
Influence or persuasion exerted on someone.
He succumbed to peer pressure and made a poor decision.
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Load
(in combination) Used to form nouns that indicate a large quantity, often corresponding to the capacity of a vehicle
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Load
A large number or amount.
I got loads of presents for my birthday!
I got a load of emails about that.
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Load
The volume of work required to be performed.
Will our web servers be able to cope with that load?
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Load
(engineering) The force exerted on a structural component such as a beam, girder, cable etc.
Each of the cross-members must withstand a tensile load of 1,000 newtons.
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Load
(electrical engineering) The electrical current or power delivered by a device.
I'm worried that the load on that transformer will be too high.
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Load
(engineering) A resistive force encountered by a prime mover when performing work.
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Load
(electrical engineering) Any component that draws current or power from an electrical circuit.
Connect a second 24-ohm load across the power supply's output terminals.
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Load
(computing) The process of loading something, i.e. transferring it into memory or over a network, etc.
All of those uncompressed images are going to slow down the page load.
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Load
A person that spends all day online. The term was originally used in the late 1980s to describe users on free Q-Link (later America Online) accounts who never signed off the system at great expense to the company.
She never logs off; she is a real LOAD!
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Load
(transitive) To put a load on or in (a means of conveyance or a place of storage).
The dock workers refused to load the ship.
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Load
(transitive) To place in or on a conveyance or a place of storage.
The longshoremen loaded the cargo quickly.
He loaded his stuff into his storage locker.
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Load
(intransitive) To put a load on something.
The truck was supposed to leave at dawn, but in fact we spent all morning loading.
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Load
(intransitive) To receive a load.
The truck is designed to load easily.
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Load
(intransitive) To be placed into storage or conveyance.
The containers load quickly and easily.
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Load
(transitive) To fill (a firearm or artillery) with munition.
I pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. I had forgotten to load the gun.
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Load
(transitive) To insert (an item or items) into an apparatus so as to ready it for operation, such as a reel of film into a camera, sheets of paper into a printer etc.
Now that you've loaded the film [into the camera], you're ready to start shooting.
Now that you've loaded the camera [with film], you're ready to start shooting.
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Load
(transitive) To fill (an apparatus) with raw material.
The workers loaded the blast furnace with coke and ore.
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Load
(intransitive) To be put into use in an apparatus.
The cartridge was designed to load easily.
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Load
To read (data or a program) from a storage medium into computer memory.
Click OK to load the selected data.
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Load
To transfer from a storage medium into computer memory.
This program takes an age to load.
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Load
To put runners on first, second and third bases
He walks to load the bases.
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Load
(transitive) To tamper with so as to produce a biased outcome.
You can load the dice in your favour by researching the company before your interview.
The wording of the ballot paper loaded the vote in favour of the Conservative candidate.
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Load
(transitive) To ask or adapt a question so that it will be more likely to be answered in a certain way.
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Load
(transitive) To encumber with something negative, to place as an encumbrance.
The new owners had loaded the company with debt.
The new owners loaded debt on the company.
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Load
(transitive) To provide in abundance.
He loaded his system with carbs before the marathon.
He loaded carbs into his system before the marathon.
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Load
A burden; that which is laid on or put in anything for conveyance; that which is borne or sustained; a weight; as, a heavy load.
He might such a loadTo town with his ass carry.
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Load
The quantity which can be carried or drawn in some specified way; the contents of a cart, barrow, or vessel; that which will constitute a cargo; lading.
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Load
That which burdens, oppresses, or grieves the mind or spirits; as, a load of care.
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Load
A particular measure for certain articles, being as much as may be carried at one time by the conveyance commonly used for the article measured; as, a load of wood; a load of hay; specifically, five quarters.
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Load
The amount of work that a person, group, or machine is assigned to perform; as, the boss distributed the load evenly among his employees.
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Load
The weight or force that a structural support bears or is designed to bear; the object that creates that force.
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Load
To lay a load or burden on or in, as on a horse or in a cart; to charge with a load, as a gun; to furnish with a lading or cargo, as a ship; hence, to add weight to, so as to oppress or embarrass; to heap upon.
I strive all in vain to load the cart.
I have loaden me with many spoils.
Those honors deep and broad, wherewithYour majesty loads our house.
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Load
A quantity that can be processed or transported at one time;
The system broke down under excessive loads
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Load
An amount of alcohol sufficient to intoxicate;
He got a load on and started a brawl
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Load
An onerous or difficult concern;
The burden of responsibility
That's a load off my mind
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Load
A deposit of valuable ore occurring within definite boundaries separating it from surrounding rocks
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Load
The front part of a guided missile or rocket or torpedo that carries the nuclear or explosive charge or the chemical or biological agents
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Load
Put (something) on a structure or conveyance;
Load the bags onto the trucks
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Load
Force exerted on a structure.
The bridge was designed to withstand a maximum load of 10,000 pounds.
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Load
The cargo or passengers in a vehicle.
The bus reached its capacity with its full load of passengers.
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Repeatedly Asked Queries
How is load distribution important in engineering?
Proper load distribution ensures that weight is evenly distributed across a structure to prevent overloading.
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Is cargo in a vehicle considered a load?
Yes, cargo in a vehicle, like goods in a truck, is referred to as a load.
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What is a load?
A load is a weight or force that is supported by a structure or system.
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What is a distributed load?
A distributed load is a force that is spread out over an area or along a length, rather than concentrated at a single point.
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What is a load-bearing capacity?
Load-bearing capacity is the maximum weight or force that a structure or material can support safely.
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Can software applications experience a load?
Yes, in computing, "load" can refer to the amount of demand or stress placed on a system or server.
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Do electrical circuits have a load component?
Yes, electrical circuits have a load, which is the component that consumes electrical power, such as a light bulb.
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Can you give examples of different types of loads?
Examples include dead loads (permanent, unchanging loads like the weight of a building), live loads (variable loads like people and furniture), and dynamic loads (loads that change rapidly like wind or seismic forces).
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What is gauge pressure?
Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to atmospheric pressure, often used in pressure measurements like tire pressure.
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What is a load factor in aviation?
A load factor in aviation measures the structural stress on an aircraft caused by changes in its acceleration and speed during flight.
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Why is load testing important in software development?
Load testing helps ensure that software applications can handle the expected user demand without crashing or slowing down.
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What is the formula for pressure?
Pressure (P) equals force (F) divided by the area (A) over which the force is applied: P = F/A.
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Why does pressure change with depth in a fluid?
Pressure in a fluid increases with depth due to the weight of the fluid above it, following the hydrostatic pressure formula.
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What is absolute pressure?
Absolute pressure includes the pressure of the atmosphere, making it the total pressure at a specific point.
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How does pressure relate to fluid dynamics and Bernoulli's principle?
Pressure differences play a crucial role in fluid dynamics and are a fundamental concept in Bernoulli's principle, which explains fluid flow behavior.
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What is pressure?
Pressure is the force exerted on a surface per unit area.
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Can pressure be positive and negative?
Yes, pressure can be positive (compressive) or negative (tensile) depending on the direction of the force applied.
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Is pressure always expressed in units like pounds per square inch (psi) or pascals (Pa)?
Yes, pressure is typically measured in units like psi, Pa, or other pressure units.
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How is atmospheric pressure defined?
Atmospheric pressure is the pressure exerted by the weight of the Earth's atmosphere at a given location.
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What is hydrostatic pressure?
Hydrostatic pressure is the pressure exerted by a fluid at rest and depends on the fluid's density and depth.
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Nov 13, 2023
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About Author
Written by
Shumaila SaeedShumaila Saeed, an expert content creator with 6 years of experience, specializes in distilling complex topics into easily digestible comparisons, shining a light on the nuances that both inform and educate readers with clarity and accuracy.
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