Does Pascal's Law Apply to the Ocean?

[Cheeser12]

This isn't a math question really, and I'm really sorry if I put this in the wrong section. Still, I've been going over fluid dynamics in class and I have a question about Pascal's Law. It may be silly, but it's one that's been kinda bugging me.

Pascal's Law says that any change in pressure of a fluid must be transferred to every point in the fluid. I've been thinking about this in terms of the ocean though...if I drop a rock in the ocean, does EVERY point in the ocean really feel a change in pressure? I mean it's not like if I drop a rock off the east coast of the US that someone on the west coast of Europe would see any change in pressure. My physics teacher answered this question but I didn't really get it (someone asked essentially the same question in terms of why you can't drop a stick of dynamite and kill all the whales in the ocean. I don't know why.) but I didn't really get the answer, he said something about the force dissipating as the area increased, but Pascal's Law says the pressure has to be transferred undiminished. After all, in F1/A1 = F2/A2, F2 and A2 vary directly, so F2 must go up with A2. So if the area increases, shouldn't the force exerted increase as well?

That came out long, but it's been bugging me, and I don't have access to my teacher right now. Any answer to this would be appreciated, even if it's to point out I made a stupid assumption :p

 

[member 553083]

Thanks! Pascal's Law is a statement about pressure, not force. It states that the pressure applied to any point in a confined fluid will be transmitted equally to all points in the fluid. This means that when you drop a rock into the ocean, the pressure applied to that point is transmitted equally to all other points in the ocean. The force does dissipate as the area increases, which is why you don't see any change in pressure on the other side of the world. In F1/A1 = F2/A2, F1 and A1 are inversely proportional, so when A2 increases, F2 decreases.