Posts by chris huygens

Siphon Wars: Pressurist weighs into Gravitite boffin

Go back to the dark ages where you belong

Sean Hunter thinks:

"1)Atmospheric conditions similar to earth cannot exist in the absence of atmosphere and there would be no atmosphere without gravity.

2)Without gravity there's nothing to keep the water in the bucket."

Sean Hunter is wrong needs to take a physics class that teaches physics that is not dated. Atmospheric conditions similar to earth can indeed exist without gravity. For example, on an extremely long space ship traveling at a constant acceleration of , oh, I don't know, let's say 10 m/s/s relative to an inertial frame of reference. The air on that ship would be compressed by it's "inertia" in much the same way that the air in our atmosphere is compressed by "gravity", and the "inertia" of the water in the buckets at the end of this ship would keep it there just like "gravity" holds it there on earth.

Let's all start arguing about whether or not it is "inertia" that is responsible for the phenomenon of the siphon. Or maybe it's bent space-time. Even more pointless of an argument.

Here's a good one: go up into the Vomit Rocket and see if you can get a siphon going in a state of free-fall. "Gravity" is there doing it's thing, right? Will the siphon work? Does "gravity" just go away when you're in free fall?

Of course, I know next to nothing about general relativity, but it is quite hilarious to read this back-and-forth about whether a fictitious force is responsible for a siphon or not. I suggest that we next discuss whether or not spontaneous generation is possible in a jar containing broth and phlogisticated air.

I bet that if there is anyone out there who actually understands the fundamental physical principles of a siphon they are reading this all and thinking exactly what anonymous coward was thinking:

"fools"

Another Thought Experiment

Consider two buckets of water connected by a hose - one higher than the other. Let us grant that atmospheric conditions similar to those on Earth exist: i.e. the atmospheric pressure at the higher bucket is lower than the atmospheric pressure at the lower bucket. Now, let us dispose of the so called "force of gravity" (which is really a general relativistic effect that none of us know enough math to speak about authoritatively anyway. Sorry Newton, but Leibniz invented calculus and you were completely wrong when you dreamed up some magical force that pulls matter together. At least you have a tasty fig bar named after you, though)

So, now we have two buckets connected with a hose, and one bucket's water has more pressure pushing on it than the other. Which way does the water flow? I would think that it would flow from the area of higher pressure to the area of lower pressure. But wait! The longer column of water weighs more than the shorter one! Err... we supposed there was no "gravity" didn't we, so weight doesn't enter into this experiment.

I just find it interesting that when gravity is removed from the situation, the siphon flows in the opposite direction.