Meaning of pressure (what is it, concept and definition)

What is Pressure:

As pressure the known force that something makes about something else to tighten or compress. As such, it is a concept used in different disciplines of knowledge, such as physics, medicine, economics, or sociology.

Pressure, on the other hand, can also refer to the force or coercion that a person or a group of people exerts on an individual or a community to determine their acts or their behavior.

The word, as such, comes from the Latin pressĭo , pressiōnis .

Blood pressure

As arterial pressure, also known as blood pressure or venous pressure, it is known the one that the blood exerts when circulating through the arteries. The importance of blood pressure is that it allows blood to circulate through the vessels so that it provides oxygen and nutrients to the organs of the body for their operation.

Pressure in Physics

In Physics, as pressure we call the relationship between the force exerted by a body (gaseous, liquid or solid) and the surface on which it is applied. It is considered a physical quantity. Its unit, according to the International System, is the pascal (Pa). The pascal is the equivalent of the total force of a newton acting uniformly over one square meter, that is, N / m ².

Atmospheric pressure

The atmospheric pressure is that which the air, which is a gas and, as such, is heavy, exerts on everything that is immersed in the Earth's atmosphere. Its approximate value at sea level is 760 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or 1013 millibars (mbar). Thus, we can affirm that atmospheric pressure is the force that, per unit area, air exerts on the Earth's surface.

Gauge pressure

Gauge pressure is the pressure that results from the difference between absolute pressure and atmospheric pressure. As such, it is measured with a device called a manometer. It is only applicable in cases where the pressure is higher than atmospheric pressure, otherwise it is vacuum pressure.

Absolute pressure

The absolute pressure is the one that is obtained from the sum of the atmospheric pressure and the gauge pressure.

Osmotic pressure

Osmotic pressure is known as that which takes place in a solution where the particles of a solvent exert pressure on a semipermeable membrane, all this in order to stop the flow of the solute. Thus, when two solutions come into contact through a semi-permeable membrane, the solvent molecules diffuse, passing from the solution with the lowest concentration of solutes to the one with the highest concentration. This phenomenon is known by the name of osmosis, hence, when osmosis occurs, a pressure difference occurs on both sides of the semipermeable membrane, which is what we call osmotic pressure.

Tax pressure

Fiscal pressure is a concept of the economy to refer to the relationship between the income of the public finances and the gross domestic product (GDP) of a country. In this sense, it constitutes the percentage of income that companies and individuals actually contribute to the State through the payment of taxes.

Social pressure

Social pressure is called the influence that society, with its beliefs, customs and traditions, has on the people within it. People do many things because of social pressure, such as getting married, having children, buying things of value, professing a religion, or identifying with certain prejudices.