You are using a hydraulic jack to lift a 12000 Newton object. This input piston of your jack has a radius of 0.85 meters and you can exert a maximum of 3500 Newtons on it. How large does the radius of the output piston need to be in order to lift this object without failing?

Question

You are using a hydraulic jack to lift a 12000 Newton object.  This input piston of your jack has a radius of 0.85 meters and you can exert a maximum of 3500 Newtons on it.  How large does the radius of the output piston need to be in order to lift this object without failing?

drwls · Answer

R^2 * Force = constant (same number for input and output pistons) R^2 * 12000 = (0.85)^2 * 3500 Solve for output piston radius, R