When I explain this to a group, I always get a challenge from some engineer that what I am saying is not accurate. And after all, they are the “engineers.” So today I asked Google Gemini to explain it to me…
Q: Can a human hold up a wall that is 20' long and 8' tall when 1.0 PSIG is applied to it?
A: The short answer is absolutely not.
While 1.0 PSIG (Pounds per Square Inch Gauge) sounds like a very small amount of pressure, the problem is the massive surface area it is acting upon. In fluid dynamics and engineering, pressure is a force applied over an area. Because the pressure is applied to every single square inch of that wall, it multiplies incredibly fast."
Here is the breakdown of why a human would be immediately crushed:
- Calculate the Surface Area
First, we need to find the total surface area of the wall in square inches, since our pressure is in pounds per square inch (psi).
A=(20 ft×12 in/ft)×(8 ft×12 in/ft)
A=240 in×96 in=23,040 in2
The wall has a total surface area of 23,040 square inches.
- Calculate the Total Force
Next, we multiply the surface area by the pressure to find the total force pushing against the wall.
F=P×A
F=1.0 psi×23,040 in2=23,040 lbs
The Reality of the Load
At just 1.0 PSIG, the total force pushing on that wall is 23,040 pounds (over 11.5 tons).
To put that into perspective:
That is the equivalent of trying to hold up the weight of five Ford F-150 pickup trucks or roughly two adult male African elephants.
An average, fit human might be able to brace and push with about 100 to 300 pounds of sustained force.
Even the strongest strongmen in the world, who can momentarily lift or push thousands of pounds in highly specific, leveraged scenarios, wouldn’t come close to a fraction of this.
You would need a small army of about 100 to 150 people bracing against that wall simultaneously just to match the load, and that assumes the wall itself is structurally sound enough not to snap in half under the stress!
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