Basically, this equation is telling you how much force you'd need from a jet stream to hold a mass in place. Again, a picture just in case you care.
This lab isn't why I hate college. Instead, it's my group members interpretation of the purpose for this experiment. Somehow after reading that sentence, seeing this picture, and doing the entire lab, she decided that this was the purpose of the lab.
"This experiment is intended to prove whether or not the impact forces on a vane can be harnessed to extract power from fluids, here seen as water, under high pressure conditions."
........
Did I miss something!?!?!?