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Direct stress is force divided by the area carrying it, so it is the intensity of internal loading rather than the load itself. 25 kN on 500 mm2 gives 50 MPa - comfortable for structural steel, which yields near 250 MPa, but well past the strength of most plastics.
Direct stress
sigma = F / A
Unit relation
1 MPa = 1 N/mm2
Because a megapascal is a million pascals and a square millimetre is a millionth of a square metre, so the factors cancel exactly.
Dimensionally yes, but stress is directional and internal to a solid, whereas pressure acts equally in all directions in a fluid.