Pressure and salt effects in simulated water: two sides of the same coin?

A number of natural and synthetic materials exhibit selective permeation, meaning that only molecules or ions of a certain size, shape, polarity, charge, and so forth, are capable of passing through (permeating) the material. Biological cell membranes provide elegant examples of selective permeation in nature, while dialysis tubing used to remove metabolic wastes from blood is a more simplistic technological example. Regardless of how they may be fabricated, these materials are generally...

In mechanical engineering, fluid pressure plays a critical role in designing systems that utilize liquid flow, such as hydraulic systems, pumps, and valves. When designing these systems, engineers must ensure they can withstand the forces created by fluid pressure to avoid damage or failure.
According to Pascal's law, a fluid at rest will generate equal pressure in all directions. This pressure is measured as a force per unit area, and its magnitude depends on the fluid's specific weight or...

The addition of an inert ionic compound increases the solubility of a sparingly soluble salt. For example, adding potassium nitrate to a saturated solution of calcium sulfate significantly enhances the solubility of calcium sulfate. Le Châtelier's principle cannot predict this shift in the equilibrium. Instead, this could be explained in terms of changes in the effective concentration of the ions in solution in the presence of added inert salt.
In this solution, the primary cation—the calcium...

There are many examples of pressure in fluids in everyday life, such as in relation to blood (high or low blood pressure) and in relation to weather (high- and low-pressure weather systems). A given force can have a significantly different effect, depending on the area over which the force is exerted. For instance, a force applied to an area of 1 mm2 has a pressure that is 100 times greater than the same force applied to an area of 1 cm2. That's why a sharp needle is able to poke through skin...

Compared with pure water, the solubility of an ionic compound is less in aqueous solutions containing a common ion (one also produced by dissolution of the ionic compound). This is an example of a phenomenon known as the common ion effect, which is a consequence of the law of mass action that may be explained using Le Châtelier’s principle. Consider the dissolution of silver iodide:

When a body is submerged in water, it experiences fluid pressure acting normal on its surface and distributed over its area. For better design structures, it is crucial to determine the magnitude and location of the resultant force acting on the surface. In the case of a rectangular plate of constant width submerged in water, the pressure increases with depth, resulting in a linearly varying trapezoidal pressure distribution from the upper to the lower edge of the plate.
The resultant force...