What is differential pressure?

What is differential pressure?

• A. Nothing more than the difference between two pressures.
• B. The sum of two pressures
• C. Pressure at one point
• D. Pressure difference times area

Answer: (A)

Differential pressure is the difference between two pressures. If you compare two points in a fluid, the differential pressure equals P1 minus P2. This tells you how much pressure has changed as the fluid moves from one point to the other, which is crucial for understanding flow through a restriction, across a filter, or in a pressure monitoring setup. It’s not the sum of pressures, not the pressure at a single point, and not pressure difference times area (that would give a force). The unit is pascals (N/m^2).

Differential pressure is the difference between two pressures. If you compare two points in a fluid, the differential pressure equals P1 minus P2. This tells you how much pressure has changed as the fluid moves from one point to the other, which is crucial for understanding flow through a restriction, across a filter, or in a pressure monitoring setup. It’s not the sum of pressures, not the pressure at a single point, and not pressure difference times area (that would give a force). The unit is pascals (N/m^2).