Because we grew up in a pressurized system, our bodies have developed so that al

Question

Because we grew up in a pressurized system, our bodies have developed so that all pressures interior to our body are relatively close to atmospheric pressure. With small pressure differentials, we have a difficult time gauging the magnitude of atmospheric pressure. Consider a person lying on his stomach, with sheets of paper stacked on his back. If each sheet of paper has a mass of 0.00450 kg and is the standard letter size 8.5" × 11" (0.216 m × 0.279 m), how many sheets would stack to produce a pressure on his back equal to atmospheric pressure (roughly 101325 Pa)?

Explanation / Answer

Thrust/Area = Pressure

Thrust = no. of sheets x weight of one sheet = n mg = n (0.00450)(9.81) = n(0.044145) N

Area = 0.216 x 0.279 m = 0.060264 m^2

Now, n(0.044145) /0.060264 = 101325 Pa

n = 138323 sheets

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