Resources
Glossary
Pascal
A pascal (symbol Pa) is the SI unit of pressure (and stress). It tells you how much force is applied over a given area.
On one line: 1 Pa = 1 N/m² (one newton of force spread over one square meter).
In industrial terms, pascals show up everywhere pressure or stress matters—hydraulics, pneumatics, pumps, piping, vessels, gasket stress, material stress/strength—but because 1 Pa is very small, you almost always see kPa and MPa:
- 1 kPa = 1,000 Pa
- 1 MPa = 1,000,000 Pa
Handy conversions (approx):
- 1 psi ≈ 6.895 kPa
- 1 bar = 100 kPa = 0.1 MPa
- 1 MPa ≈ 145 psi
- Standard atmosphere ≈ 101.325 kPa
Quick intuition: tire pressure is roughly 200–300 kPa; many hydraulic systems operate in the 10–35 MPa range (and beyond), depending on the equipment.