Pressure on a swimmer at depth
What is the pressure on a swimmer 10 m below the surface of a lake?
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Study pressure, buoyancy, fluid flow, viscosity and surface tension through worked examples.
| Fluid | Density |
|---|---|
| Air (0 °C, 1 atm) | $1.29\times10^0$ |
| Carbon dioxide | $1.98\times10^0$ |
| Oxygen | $1.43\times10^0$ |
| Hydrogen | $0.09\times10^0$ |
| Water (4 °C) | $1.00\times10^3$ |
| Sea water | $1.03\times10^3$ |
| Mercury | $13.6\times10^3$ |
What is the pressure on a swimmer 10 m below the surface of a lake?
The two thigh bones (femurs), each of cross-sectional area 10 cm², support the upper part of a human body of mass 40 kg. Estimate the average pressure sustained by the femurs.
The density of the atmosphere at sea level is 1.29 kg m⁻³. Assume that it does not change with altitude. Then how high would the atmosphere extend?
At a depth of 1000 m in an ocean (a) what is the absolute pressure? (b) What is the gauge pressure? (c) Find the force acting on the window of area 20 cm × 20 cm of a submarine at this depth, the interior of which is maintained at sea-level atmospheric pressure. (The density of sea water is 1.03 × 10³ kg m⁻³, g = 10 m s⁻².)
Two syringes of different cross-sections (without needles) filled with water are connected with a tightly fitted rubber tube filled with water. Diameters of the smaller piston and larger piston are 1.0 cm and 3.0 cm respectively. (a) Find the force exerted on the larger piston when a force of 10 N is applied to the smaller piston. (b) If the smaller piston is pushed in through 6.0 cm, how much does the larger piston move out?
In a car lift compressed air exerts a force F₁ on a small piston having a radius of 5.0 cm. This pressure is transmitted to a second piston of radius 15 cm. If the mass of the car to be lifted is 1350 kg, calculate F₁. What is the pressure necessary to accomplish this task? (g = 9.8 m s⁻².)
Change the throat area. The tracer speeds up as the stream tube narrows.
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The particle animation is schematic; the speed ratio follows A₁v₁=A₂v₂.
Adjust the throat area to compare the flow speed and pressure at the narrow section.
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Assumes ideal horizontal steady flow; real viscosity causes pressure losses.
A fully loaded Boeing aircraft has a mass of 3.3 × 10⁵ kg. Its total wing area is 500 m². It is in level flight with a speed of 960 km h⁻¹. (a) Estimate the pressure difference between the lower and upper surfaces of the wings. (b) Estimate the fractional increase in the speed of the air on the upper surface of the wing relative to the lower surface. [The density of air is ρ = 1.2 kg m⁻³.]
| Fluid | Temperature (°C) | η (mPa s) |
|---|---|---|
| Water | 20 | 1.0 |
| Water | 100 | 0.3 |
| Blood | 37 | 2.7 |
| Machine oil | 16 | 113 |
| Machine oil | 38 | 34 |
| Glycerine | 20 | 830 |
| Honey | — | 200 |
| Air | 0 | 0.017 |
| Air | 40 | 0.019 |
A metal block of area 0.10 m² is connected to a 0.010 kg mass via a string that passes over an ideal pulley (considered massless and frictionless), as in Fig. 9.13. A liquid with a film thickness of 0.30 mm is placed between the block and the table. When released the block moves to the right with a constant speed of 0.085 m s⁻¹. Find the coefficient of viscosity of the liquid.
The terminal velocity of a copper ball of radius 2.0 mm falling through a tank of oil at 20 °C is 6.5 cm s⁻¹. Compute the viscosity of the oil at 20 °C. Density of oil is 1.5 × 10³ kg m⁻³, density of copper is 8.9 × 10³ kg m⁻³.
| Liquid | Temperature (°C) | S (N m⁻¹) | Heat of vaporisation (kJ mol⁻¹) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helium | −270 | 0.000239 | 0.115 |
| Oxygen | −183 | 0.0132 | 7.1 |
| Ethanol | 20 | 0.0227 | 40.6 |
| Water | 20 | 0.0727 | 44.16 |
| Mercury | 20 | 0.4355 | 63.2 |
Change tube radius to see the water rise; the model uses a wetting contact angle near zero.
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The capillary-height display is scaled for visibility; the readout uses h=2S cosθ/(ρga).
The lower end of a capillary tube of diameter 2.00 mm is dipped 8.00 cm below the surface of water. What pressure is required in the tube to blow a hemispherical bubble at its end? Take surface tension $S=7.30\times10^{-2}$ N m⁻¹, atmospheric pressure $1.01\times10^5$ Pa, water density $1000$ kg m⁻³ and $g=9.80$ m s⁻². Also calculate the excess pressure.
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