Equations · equation

Hydrostatic Pressure

Fluid Dynamics · 1653

Equation: p = p₀ + ρ g h
Field: Fluid Dynamics
Symbols: p pressure at depth h · p₀ pressure at the surface · ρ fluid density · g gravitational acceleration · h depth below the surface
Year: 1653

Significance

Pressure in a still fluid rises with depth by the weight of the column above — about one atmosphere per ten metres of water. Stevin had it in 1586, Pascal made it precise in 1653. It is the load on a tailings dam's face, the pressure a diver feels, the metallostatic head that fills a sand mould, and the p in every fluid equation that follows.

Skills

Machines

Francis Turbine Kaplan Turbine

Requires

Newton's Second Law

Impacts

Pit lakes and perpetual treatment Tailings dam failure Subsidence

Required By

Pascal's Principle Archimedes' Principle Darcy's Law Capillary Rise Bernoulli's Equation

Referenced by

equation

Archimedes' Principle Bernoulli's Equation Capillary Rise Darcy's Law Newton's Second Law Pascal's Principle

impact

Pit lakes and perpetual treatment Subsidence Tailings dam failure

machine

Francis Turbine Kaplan Turbine

skill

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From the Equations database in Notion, last edited 2026-08-18. This page is the row, rendered by the build; nothing on it is written by hand.