What's the difference between the words stress and pressure?

Answer 1

I think Jon has it. Pressure is not a bad thing in itself, it allows us to work quickly and accurately. however if applied too often and for to long it becomes stress and that is bad very bad. The victim( yes Victim) is overwhelmed. As happened in my own case very I suddenly found that I could not perform even the simplest task in my duties. i had pains in my chest, I was dizzy, I hardly knew my name and all I wanted to do was cry. it took me over 3 months to get back to work. that little extra i needed to do my job had gone although I got odd wonderful flashes of it. I retired.

Answer 2

Stress
If differently sized cubes, made out of the same crumbly substance, are each being pulled apart by a similar force, the pulling force acts to separate or split adjacent layers (each at right angles to the direction that the force is being applied along).
The largest cubes have a greater chance of staying intact because the layers are bigger in area and so there are more particles in each 'layer' to share and so to better resist the stretching force.
For any substance it's useful to know how strongly each particle in a layer bonds to the particle in the next layer. If you divide the pulling force by the number of particles in one layer, you get a better idea of the force each individual bond is under. If you don't know how many particles are in the layer, an easier calculation is to substitute the AREA of the layer for the number of particles and divide the applied force by that area to give a value of STRESS.
If the substance is being stretched, it's called TENSILE stress.
If the substance is being squeezed, it's called COMPRESSIVE stress.

Pressure
If any fluid (i.e. a gas or a liquid) is contained by the walls of a vessel, particles of fluid move fast in random directions and a reactive force will push against any particle in the solid wall when a moving particle of the fluid hits it. The pushing force depends on the moving particle's speed and direction. The number of such pushing actions on the wall is huge, because there is such a large number of these tiny particles in even a tiny drop of fluid, so a total force can be added up from all the separate pushing forces on a chosen area of the containing wall at any moment. PRESSURE is that total force divided by the area of the container wall it acts on.
The pressure of air inside a car tyre determines the area of the 'footprint' of tyre tread which actually touches the road for a given downward force so, to keep the area of that 'footprint' correct, you should alter the tyre pressure to suit how heavily the car is loaded.

Answer 3

Pressure tends to squeeze things and can be measured in psi (pounds per square inch). For example, water pressure of 100 psi causes a compressive stress of 100 psi on the surface of a submerged object. However an object may be under either compressive or tensile (tension) stress and cold water can not exist in tension (greater than a pure vacuum).

Answer 4

Physically:
-pressure is a ratio of force applied uniformly over a surface, measured as force per unit of area. It is formed by liquids or Gases. The most interesting examples of pressure involve fluids—that is, gases and liquids—and in particular water and air.

- stress is The force, or combination of forces, which produces a strain; force exerted in any direction or manner between contiguous bodies, or parts of bodies, and taking specific names according to its direction, or mode of action, as thrust or pressure, pull or tension, shear or tangential stress.

So, stress is more comprehensive force and the pressure is one sort of stress.


Abstract meanings:
Pressure is the stimulation and challenge you need to achieve job satisfaction and self-esteem.

Stress is a reaction to continued excessive pressure or responsibility when you feel inadequate or unable to cope.

Answer 5

They are both the result of dividing a force by the area that it is applied over. Pressure normally is positive, and it could be on any surface applied by a gas or liquid or it could be over a plane surface inside a solid. Stress can be positive or negative (i.e. pushing or pulling force), and it is normally across a plane surface in the middle of a solid (i.e. it tells you whether or not the solid might break or stretch).

Answer 6

In physics terms, stress is basically the force per unit area WITHIN a body, i.e a body's internal distribution of force per area that reacts to external applied force. On the other hand, pressure is the force applied per unit area on the SURFACE of an object.

Answer 7

Stress means physical, mental or emotional strain caused by anxiety or overwork.

Pressure means powerful, stressful demands on someone's time or attention. So, as you can see, stress is caused by a lot of pressure.

Answer 8

Stress:
1.The relative prominence of a syllable or musical note (especially with regard to stress or pitch)
2. force that produces strain on a physical body
and
Pressure:
1.The force applied to a unit area of surface; measured in pascals (SI unit) or in dynes (cgs unit)
2.A force that compels
3.The somatic sensation that results from applying force to an area of skin

Answer 9

I think that Pressure is the descriptive word used to describe the force being put on the subject, Stress is the descriptive word used to describe the effect on the subject. The more pressure u put on the subject, the more stress it has on it. Am i right? I dunno.

Answer 10

well, pressure is when someone is constantly pushing you to do something while stress happens when you start to feel overwhelm with what you are doing.