What is the pressure created by a 50 ft high column of oil with a specific gravity of 0.9?

To find the pressure created by a column of liquid, we can use the formula:

[ \text{Pressure (P)} = \text{Height (h)} \times \text{Specific Weight (γ)} ]

The specific weight of a liquid can be calculated from its specific gravity (SG). The specific weight of water is approximately 62.4 lbs/ft³, so for a liquid with a specific gravity of 0.9, the specific weight is:

[ \text{Specific Weight (γ)} = \text{Specific Gravity (SG)} \times \text{Weight of Water} ]

This gives:

[ γ = 0.9 \times 62.4 , \text{lbs/ft}^3 = 56.16 , \text{lbs/ft}^3 ]

Now, applying the height of the column (50 ft) into the pressure formula:

[ P = 50 , \text{ft} \times 56.16 , \text{lbs/ft}^3 = 2808 , \text{lbs/ft}^2 ]

To convert this into psi (pounds per square inch), we note that there are