megapaskal

Megapascal (symbol MPa) is a unit of pressure in the International System of Units (SI). It is defined as one million pascals (Pa), where a pascal is equal to one newton per square meter. Because many pressures in engineering are well over kilopascals, the megapascal provides a convenient scale for expressing stresses, loads, and pressures in mechanical, civil, and materials sciences.

Conversions and common values: 1 MPa equals 10^6 Pa and 10 bar, since 1 bar = 10^5 Pa. In common engineering units, 1 MPa is approximately 145.038 pounds per square inch (psi) and about 9.869 atmospheres (atm). The megapascal is also used alongside kilopascals and gigapascals to cover different magnitudes of pressure.

Uses: MPa is widely used to specify stresses and pressures in engineering, geology, materials science, hydraulics, and related fields. It appears in contexts such as tensile and compressive strength of materials, hydraulic system pressures, and tire inflation ranges, where practical values typically fall within the MPa to tens of MPa range for many applications.

Naming and spelling: The unit is named after Blaise Pascal, with the SI prefix mega- meaning one million. The standard English spelling is megapascal. A variant spelling megapaskal (with a k) can be encountered in some languages or texts, but megapascal is the accepted form in English.