The physics of how a siphon works: pressure as a function of depth at the moment the siphon starts.
New videos every week! Subscribe to Zak's Lab / @zakslab
Questions or requests? Post your comments below, and I will respond within 24 hours.
To investigate the physics of how a siphon works, we set up a tube to siphon water out of a tank, then we consider the instant at which we release the water. By locating two points at which the pressure is atmospheric, we use our pressure as a function of depth equation to compute the pressure in the horizontal branch of the tube and show that there is a net force accelerating water out of the container. This fluid statics siphon problem shows that the siphon will work, but it doesn't show how fast it works: that's a hydrodynamics problem!
