Proven false by Hero of Alexandria in the 1st century AD
"Liquid is, of course, drawn up the shorter limb of the siphon by the weight of that in the longer downward one:..."
Hero of Alexandria disproved this in the first century AD. In the book "Pneumatics" he discusses an experiment using a siphon with a large diameter for the short leg and a small diameter for the long leg. Result, a greater weight of water in the short leg. Did the water travel up into the higher container (short leg), thereby generating free energy and saving us all from having to dig coal for a living? No it did not.
It's not the weight, it's the pressure. Pressure does not act at all like a chain. You can't pull on pressure. And the tension in a chain only pulls in one direction, whereas the pressure in a liquid is the same in all directions - turn the pressure sensor in any direction and it registers the same pressure.
Fail is for the grade he would get if he was a student in my Ancient Science and Technology course at Carleton University.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
