Pressure Calculator
Work out pressure instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.
About Pressure Calculator
Pressure is force spread over area, so the same force concentrated on a smaller area produces far more pressure - the reason a drawing pin pierces wood while your thumb does not. 500 N over 0.02 m2 gives 25 kPa, about a quarter of atmospheric pressure.
Formulas
Pressure
P = F / A
Unit relations
1 bar = 100 kPa; 1 psi = 6894.76 Pa
Worked example
With the default values below, Pressure Calculator returns Pressure of 25,000.0. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Force appliedminimum 0 N
- 500 N
- Area it acts overminimum 0 m2
- 0.02 m2
Results
- Pressure
- 25,000.0 Pa
- Same Pressure In Kilopascals
- 25.0000
- Same Pressure In Bar
- 0.25000
- Same Pressure In psi
- 3.6259
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Pressure
- 3Unit relations
- 4Pressure= 25,000.0 Pa
- 5Same Pressure In Kilopascals= 25.0000
- 6Same Pressure In Bar= 0.25000
- 7Same Pressure In psi= 3.6259
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 2 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 5 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does a sharp knife cut better?
The edge presents a tiny contact area, so a modest force becomes an enormous pressure that exceeds the material's shear strength.
Is this gauge or absolute pressure?
Neither by itself - it is the pressure that the force produces. Add atmospheric pressure if you need an absolute figure.