eli5 If you have a large tank of water on a wheeled stand, and you poked a hole in the side, it should roll forward to conserve momentum. But how does the water transfer that motion to the tank?
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The water have static pressure due to the force of gravity acting on its mass. The pressure just means it is pushing out in all directions. In fact you measure pressure as force over area. So the water is pushing the front of the tank and the rear of the tank with the exact same pressure and because they are the same area that means the same force. The net force is therefore zero. However when you poke a hole in the tank you remove some of the area that the pressure acts on. So now there is more force on the side with the larger area then the side with the smaller area due to the hole. A net force is therefore acting in this direction.
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