Hydraulic Press & Pascal's Principle
Push a small piston and lift a car with a big one, and see how force, area and distance trade off.
Drag the small piston down. The pressure travels through the oil and lifts the big piston with a much larger force.
About the Hydraulic Press & Pascal's Principle
Free hydraulic press & pascal's principle. Push a small piston and lift a car with a big one, and see how force, area and distance trade off. Drag, change the sliders and see the result live. No sign-up, works on phone and computer. Built for engineering, the hydraulic press & pascal's principle runs instantly in your browser: change a setting or drag an object and the result updates at once, so you learn by trying things out rather than only reading about them.
Push a small piston and lift a car with a big one, and see how force, area and distance trade off. Use it to explore engineering ideas at your own pace, then check what you found against the key ideas further down this page.
How to use the Hydraulic Press & Pascal's Principle
- Use the controls to change Small piston area, Large piston area, Push force, Load. The simulation reacts instantly.
- Pick an option such as Car 1000 kg, Elephant 5000 kg, Truck 8000 kg to switch modes or load an example.
- Press "Release" to start, reset or change what is happening.
- Where you see a glowing handle, object, weight or atom, drag it with your mouse or finger. Everything responds in real time.
- Watch the readouts and graphs update as you experiment, and compare what you see with the key ideas below.
Things to try
- Lift the car with a small push and a large area ratio.
- Try the truck and see when the force is not enough.
- Make the small piston narrower.
Key ideas you can learn
- Pressure = force ÷ area and is the same everywhere in the fluid.
- A big output piston gives a big force.
- The big piston moves less than the small one, so work is conserved.
- Force multiplier = A₂ ÷ A₁.
Where this is used in the real world
Car brakes, garage lifts, excavators, aircraft landing gear and forklifts are hydraulic machines.
Who is this simulation for?
Engineering and technology students, makers, robotics clubs and teachers of design and technology. It gives a hands-on feel for how machines behave before you build a real one.
For teachers: project it on the board, let students predict what will happen, then run it together. For students: change one thing at a time and write down what changes.
Frequently asked questions
What is Pascal's principle?
A pressure change applied to an enclosed fluid is passed on equally to every part of the fluid.
Do hydraulics give free energy?
No. The big piston moves a smaller distance, so the work in equals the work out.
Is the Hydraulic Press & Pascal's Principle free to use?
Yes. It is completely free, with no signup, no download and no ads inside the simulation. It runs in your web browser.
Does the Hydraulic Press & Pascal's Principle work on a phone or tablet?
Yes. It uses touch as well as the mouse, so you can drag objects with your finger. A larger screen makes the controls easier to see.