Can someone explain this fluids formula to me?

[fernancb]

Homework Statement

The question pertains to hydrostatic lifts. So, assuming you have a lift and you're applying pressure to one side and the other side is rising:

P0 + P1 = P0 + P2 + (rho)gh

Now, when we look at the equation, why is it (rho)gh? I'm thinking it's something like mgh, so to convert it to fluids it would be (rho)Vgh why is this?

 

[cjl]

rho*g*h is the hydrostatic pressure due to the gravity force on a fluid. Basically, the force a column of fluid will exert on a region beneath it is equal to the mass of the fluid times the acceleration of gravity, or m*g. Mass can also be written as density multiplied by volume, so m*g = rho*v*g. Now, per unit area, the volume of fluid is simply the height of the fluid column, so the force per unit area is equal to rho*g*h.

 

[fernancb]

Okay, so the force exerted depends just on the the mass/volume/height of the fluid above it. Not the area. Did I get that right?