What are hydraulics and pneumatics?
Hydraulics is a topic of science and engineering dealing with the mechanical properties of liquids. Hydraulics is part of the more general discipline of fluid power. Fluid mechanics provides the theoretical foundation for hydraulics, which focuses on the engineering uses of fluid properties. Hydraulic topics range through most science and engineering disciplines, and cover concepts such as pipe flow, dam design, fluid control circuitry, pumps, turbines, hydropower, computational fluid dynamics, flow measurement, river channel behavior and erosion. The word “hydraulics” originates from the Greek word ὑδραυλικός (hydraulikos) which in turn originates from ὕδραυλος meaning water organ which in turn comes from ὕδωρ (water) and αὐλός (pipe). Pneumatics (from the Greek πνευματικός pneumatikos, coming from the wind) is the use of pressurized gas to do work in science and technology. Pneumatics was first documented by Hero of Alexandria in 60 A.D., though the subject had been known before then
