Difference Between Force and Pressure
Force and pressure are two key models in the study of motion in physics. Whilst there are many similarities in force and pressure, they are completely different also. Students often get perplexed among force and pressure which is surprising considering both have diverse units of measurement and are also related with each other which is articulated with the help of the following equation.
Pressure = Force/Area
Let us talk more about these two terms to confiscate any doubts from the minds of the readers.
Force
A force is distinct as a push or a pull that makes an object change its state of motion. When a soccer player hits the ball with his legs, he applies force upon it which decides that the ball, which was static comes into a state of motion and remains in motion till it is stopped by friction and force of gravity. A force can cause a moving body to stop, make it move faster, or even change its direction.
Force is a vector quantity which represents magnitude as well as direction. Force is reliant upon the mass of the body which accelerates upon purpose of force and the three are related as per following equation (Newton’s second law of motion)
Force= Mass x Acceleration
Pressure
Pressure is a physical quantity that is a force increase over some area. For convenience you can think of pressure as force per unit area. If you know the amount of force being applied on a body, divide it with the area of contact and you get the pressure being applied on the body. This means that same force, when applied on a smaller area will produce greater results than when applied to a larger surface area. Pressure is a scalar quantity and has no direction and has only magnitude. Units of pressure are Pascal (P) or Newton per square meter.