megapascál

The megapascal (MPa) is a unit of pressure or stress in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to one million pascals. The pascal (Pa) itself is defined as one newton per square meter (N/m²). Therefore, one megapascal is equivalent to one million newtons per square meter.

The megapascal is commonly used to express pressures and stresses in various scientific and engineering fields. For instance, it is frequently employed in material science to describe the tensile strength, yield strength, and compressive strength of materials. Many engineering specifications for concrete, steel, and plastics are given in megapascals.

In fluid mechanics, while the pascal is the base unit, larger pressures are often expressed in megapascals, particularly in high-pressure hydraulic systems or when discussing the pressures encountered in deep-sea environments. Industrial applications such as manufacturing, construction, and aerospace routinely utilize the megapascal unit for pressure measurements and material property characterization.

Its prevalence stems from the fact that many practical pressures and strengths fall within the range of a few to hundreds of megapascals, making it a convenient and widely understood unit. For comparison, atmospheric pressure at sea level is approximately 0.1013 MPa.