In a garage, a mechanic raises the end of an auto-mobile with a hydraulic jack. Dentists and barbers use hydraulic power, through a few strokes of a control lever, to lift and position their chairs to a convenient working height. Hydraulic doorstops keep heavy doors from slamming. Hydraulic brakes have been standard equipment on auto-mobiles since the 1930s. Most automobiles are equipped with automatic transmissions that are hydraulically operated.
Power steering is another application of hydraulic power.
Construction workers depend upon hydraulic power for the operation of various components of their equipment. For example, the blade of a bulldozer is normally operated by hydraulic power. During the period preceding World War II, the Navy began to apply hydraulics to naval mechanisms extensively. Since then, naval applications have increased to the point where many ingenious hydraulic devices are used in the solution of problems of gunnery, aeronautics, and navigation. Aboard ship, hydraulic power is used to operate such equipment as anchor windlasses, cranes, steering gear, remote control devices, and power drives for elevating and training guns and rocket launchers.