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- May 10, 2010
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I'm having a hard time grasping the concept behind this one.
It talkes about a reservoir of water with a pipe extending out from the base. On the pipe are 3 vertical columns where water travels up a certain height due to the pressure of the water.
The question asks, "if the apparatus were redesigned so that the verticle columns had a radius of a smaller bore, but not so small that capilary forces dominate, how would the height of the fluid in each column change."
They say the height would not change: "The heights of fluids in each column results from the pressure of the liquid, and the radius of each open column should have no effect on the height."
The recurring theme is that the heights depend on the pressure difference due to the water from the reservoir and the atmospheric pressure at the end of the pipe. Ok.
My logic was that a smaller radius meant at the same water height as with a bigger radius, less water would be inside and would weight less. If pressure difference doesn't change, and less water is in the column per certain height, then why wouldn't that pressure be able to push that water to a greater height?
It talkes about a reservoir of water with a pipe extending out from the base. On the pipe are 3 vertical columns where water travels up a certain height due to the pressure of the water.
The question asks, "if the apparatus were redesigned so that the verticle columns had a radius of a smaller bore, but not so small that capilary forces dominate, how would the height of the fluid in each column change."
They say the height would not change: "The heights of fluids in each column results from the pressure of the liquid, and the radius of each open column should have no effect on the height."
The recurring theme is that the heights depend on the pressure difference due to the water from the reservoir and the atmospheric pressure at the end of the pipe. Ok.
My logic was that a smaller radius meant at the same water height as with a bigger radius, less water would be inside and would weight less. If pressure difference doesn't change, and less water is in the column per certain height, then why wouldn't that pressure be able to push that water to a greater height?
