Engineering
Why Pressure Vessels Need Thick Walls for High-Pressure Gas
Quick fact
Doubling the pressure of a gas inside a thin-walled vessel does not just double the stress on the walls; the stress is directly proportional to the pressure and the radius, but inversely proportional to the wall thickness. That's why even a small increase in pressure demands a proportionally thicker wall to keep the stress safe.
Why this is interesting
Have you ever wondered why a scuba tank is so heavy and thick, while a soap bubble is incredibly thin? Why does the same gas pressure require such different wall strengths?