No, do the math:Hailfire753 wrote:I'll take your word for it.
So, let's say that the piston in the above example is 2 inches in diameter, sealing a barrel that was one inch in diameter. Lets assume that the thickness of the barrel is negligible, to simplify calculation, as it does not affect the result. The chamber is at 100 psi.
So, the total area behind the piston is 3.142 inches<sup>2</sup>, while the area available to the air on the other side (excluding the area of the barrel of 0.786 cubic inches) is 2.356 inches<sup>2</sup>. This means that the total force on the piston is (3.142 - 2.356) x 100 which totals 78.6 lbs, in the direction of the barrel.
Let's increase the piston diameter to 3 inches. The total area behind the piston is now 7.070 inches<sup>2</sup>, but the area on the other side is now 6.284 inches<sup>2</sup>, so the force now pushing the piston is equal to (7.070 - 6.284) x 100 which equals 78.6 lbs - identical to the example above.
Reducing the diameter of the piston to 1.5 inches, you get (1.767 - 0.981) x 100 which still equals 78.6 lbs.
sorry to bring the calculations in but I'm a firm believer in not just "taking someone's word for it"
No problem! I understand what you are saying now.
