[kramarczyk]

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Matt H. again.

<edit> Ether does a nice job of explaining the pressure effects over the length of the stroke. Matt's links pertain to the pre-charging required to get around the flow limits of the system that enable those higher pressures. Both pieces are required to maximize power out of the cylinder. Work is equal to force over distance (W=F*d), which is what Ether is maximizing. Power is work divided by time (P=W/t); Matt is trying to reduce the time the work is done in.