Encyclopedia > Hydraulics

  Article Content

Hydraulics

Hydraulics is a branch of science and engineering concerned with the use of liquids to perform mechanical tasks.

The word "hydraulics" comes from the Greek word ὑδϱαυλικός (hydraulikos) which in turn comes from ὕδϱαυλος meaning water organ[?] which in turn comes from ὕδωϱ (water) and αὐλός (pipe).

Typically, the fluid used in a hydraulic system is an incompressible liquid such as water or oil. Pressure is applied by a piston to fluid in a rigid vessel, causing the fluid to press on another piston that delivers energy to a load. If the areas of the two pistons are different, then the force applied to the first piston will be different from the force exerted by the second piston. This creates a mechanical advantage.

Sub-topics



All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

 
  Search Encyclopedia

Search over one million articles, find something about almost anything!
 
 
  
  Featured Article
Urethra

... through the urethra can be painful and subsequently it can lead to urethral strictures[?] Endoscopy of the bladder via the urethra is called cystoscopy. See also: ...

 
 
 
This page was created in 25.9 ms