What is the Pressure?

Pressure is how much push or squeeze something has on another thing.

Imagine you're sitting on a soft chair, it feels cozy because your body pushes down on the chair, and the chair gives a little. Now imagine you’re sitting on a tiny stool that’s barely bigger than your bottom, it feels squishy and uncomfortable because the same amount of push is now spread over a much smaller space.

Pressure happens when something pushes on another thing, like your body pushing down on the seat, or even your feet pushing on the floor when you stand up. The more push there is, or the less area it’s spread out over, the higher the pressure.

Think of a balloon. When you blow air into it, the air inside pushes against the balloon's skin from all sides, that’s pressure too! If you use a narrow straw to blow, it feels harder than using a wide one because the same amount of air is pushing through a smaller space.

So whether it’s your feet on the floor or air in a balloon, pressure is just how much push something has on another thing.