, -\

J
LONGMANS' PHYSICS TOPICS General Editor: John L Lewis
[PRESSURES
A. R. Duff
M.A. (Oxon), Assistant Master, Malvern College
Illustrated by T. H. McArthur
LONGMANS
.'
I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I
I CONTENTS]
LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO LTD
London and Harlow
Associated companies, branches and representatives throughout the world
Longmans, Green and Co Ltd 1969
SBN 582321794
First published 1969
Printed in Great Britain by
Butler and Tanner Ltd, Frome and London
The author and publisher are grateful to the British Oxygen Company
Ltd, page 7 (above), and P. B. Cow Ltd, Page 50 (middle), for help with
the diagrams, to Mr H. J. P. Keighley, Mr F. R. McKim and Pergamon
Press Ltd for permission to base the diagrams at the foot of page 17
and on page 28 on those in The Physical World 1, and to the following
for permission to use photographs: page 6 Canada House Information
Service; page 7 Dunlop Co Ltd; page 13 (above) Smiths Industries Ltd,
(below) Esso Petroleum Co Ltd; page 19 Prestige Group Ltd, Samuel
Birkett Ltd, Hartley & Sugden Ltd; page 23 Camera Press; page 30
(above) Barnaby's, (below, left) Fox Photos, (below, right) Coventry
Climax and George Cohen 600 Group Ltd; page 32 Science Museum,
London (Crown Copyright reserved); page 36 Meteorological Office
(reproduced by permission of the Controller, Her Majesty's Stationery
Office, Crown Copyright reserved); page 40 Cape Engineering Co Ltd;
page 41 Pilkington Bros; page 45 Barnaby's; page 47 Camera Press;
page 48 (above) British Rail, (below) The English Electric Co Ltd; page
52 French Embassy; page 53 (left) United States Information Service,
(right) National Aeronautics and State Administration; page 56
Cunard Steam-Ship Co Ltd; page 57 (above) Ford Motor Co, (below)
Esso Petroleum Co Ltd; pages 59 and 60 U.S.l.S. The front cover
photograph is reproduced by permission of Paris-Match and the Daily
Express, and the back cover photograph was taken by Michael Spincer.
Pressure 5
Pressure difference 9
Applications of the pressure caused by liquids 22
The pressure of the atmosphere 32
Applications involving atmospheric pressure 37
High pressures 44
Protection against extremes of pressure 51
Floating and sinking 54
Appendix I 61
Appendix 2 62
NOTE
TO THE
TEACHER
This book is one in the series of physics background books
intended primarily for use with the Nuffield O-Level Physics
Project. The team of writers who have contributed to the series
were all associated with the Project. It was always intended
that the Nuffield teachers' material should be accompanied by
background books for pupils to read, and a number of such
books have been produced under the Foundation's auspices.
This series of books is intended as a supplement to the Nuffield
pupils' material: not books giving the answers to all the inves-
tigations pupils will be doing in the laboratory, certainly not
textbooks in the conventional sense, but books that are easy to
read and copiously illustrated, and which show how the prin-
ciples studied in school are applied in the outside world.
The books are such that they can be used with a conventional
as well as a modern physics programme. Whatever course
pupils are following, they often need straightforward books to
help clarify their knowledge, sometimes to help them catch up
on a topic they have missed in their school course. It is hoped
that this series will meet that need.
This background series will provide suitable material for
reading in homework. This volume is divided into sections, and
a teacher may feel that one chapter at a time is suitable for
each homework session for which he wishes to use the book.
This particular book is written as a background book for the
Forces and Pressures sections in Years I and II. It will also be
relevant in Years III, IV and V, but has been kept simple
throughout. It is hoped that the examples. given, which range
rather beyond the Nuffield course, will help pupils to appre-
ciate the importance of pressure in everyday life. Emphasis is
placed on the practical applications of pressure and pressure
differences. This is essentially a book for pupils to browse in,
taking up points which capture their interest and possibly pur-
suing them further.
3
INTRODUCING
THIS BOOK
4
In your work at school, you will have realised that it is not
always the force that is significant, but also the force that
acts on a particular area, to which scientists give the word
pressure. This book attempts to show the significance of
the pressure caused by liquids and gases in the world
around us, and how much use is made of pressure in
devices that we often take for granted.
The first section considers various facts about pressure
with which you are probably already familiar. In the next
section we discuss the significance of pressure differences,
how they are measured and also various devices for con-
trolling pressure differences.
The next section considers a series of applications in
which the pressures caused by liquids are put to practical
use.
In later sections we turn to the pressure caused by the
atmosphere, reminding you of how it is measured and
how atmospheric pressure is used.
Gases at high pressure are also useful and there are
various devices that use compressed air. There are also
special problems these days related to extremes of
pressure, for example in deep-sea diving and ocean ex-
ploration, in high-altitude flying and of course in space
exploration, and reference is made to these problems later
in the book.
It is hoped that when you have read this book, you will
realise how significant pressure is in the world in which we
live today.
I PRESSURE I
Shooting stick
FORCE AND PRESSURE
When you pull a piece of elastic you exert a force on it;
when you push on a wall you exert a force on it; when you
stand on the floor you exert a force on it. A f o _ ~ ~ e , iHLPush
or a pull.
When'your mother weighs sugar for cooking, she puts it
on a kitchen balance and the needle goes round to show
how much sugar she has. The balance works by stretching
or compressing a spring and most forces can be measured
in this way. It is the same when you stand on the scales: if
you weigh 50 kg it means that you always exert a force of
50 kgf on the ground. (A weight of 50 kg is denoted by
50 kgf. The f shows that it is a force; for units see
Appendix 2.) This force will always be the same, provided
you are not carrying anything.
If you stand on the grass with both feet on the ground
you make very little impression on it. But if you sit on a
stick with a spike on the end - a shooting stick-it sinks
into the ground until the plate is reached.
In each case the force is about the same. But standing
on the ground, the soles of your shoes cover a much larger
area than does the point of the shooting stick. The area
over which a force acts is very important, so much so that
we use the special word pressure, defining it as force
divided by area.
The word pressure has many meanings in everyday life.
We talk about the pressure of work, the pressure of
exams, political pressure from the Government or even
high-pressure selling by travelling salesmen. In science we
have only the one meaning for it: force divided by area.
I[ you weighed 50 kgf and the area of the soles of your
. 50 kgf
shoes was 100 cm-, you would exert a pressure of 100 cm
2
or 05 kgf'/cm", But the area of the end of the shooting
50 kgf
stick might be 05 em", So the pressure would be
O
5 2
. cm
which is the same as 100 kgf'/cm--a very much greater
pressure. It is the pressure on a surface, as well as what
the surface is made of, that decides how much the surface
dents.
5
Snow shoes
6
Problems to think about
I. Why does the shooting stick stop sinking into the ground when it reaches
the plate?
2. Why does it depend on which way up a drawing pin is when someone sits
on it?
3. Can you think of one reason why a footballer has studs on his boots?
4. Why does a girl weighing 50 kg and wearing high-heeled shoes do more
harm to a wooden floor than a man weighing 100 kg?
5. Why do Eskimos and other people in snowy regions wear snow shoes?
6. Why does a grocer use a fine wire for cutting cheese?
7. Can you explain why a sharp knife cuts better than a blunt one?
PRESSURE OF L1aUIDS
Because of the force downward caused by its weight, a
solid exerts a pressure on the ground or any surface on
which it rests. Do liquids also exert a pressure?
Liquids also have a weight: if they are in a container
they must therefore exert a pressure on the bottom of that
container.
But does the liquid pressure only act downward? If you
have not already done this at school, take an old tin (the
larger the better), hammer a hole in the side with a round
nail and fill the tin with water. What happens?
To see if water pressure acts upward as wellas down-
ward and sideways, batter a tin as shown and make a hole
abovesome of the water but belo"\\.; the-highest point when
the tin is filled. In what direction does the water start to
come out?
Take another tin can and make three holes in the side
with a nail at different depths. Fill the can with water
and watch the water run out. Can you suggest what hap-
pens to the pressure as one gets deeper in the water? (The
best place to try this is in the bath !)
You may have noticed that if you swim down to the
bottom at the deep end of a swimming bath, it is painful
1'1-," on the ears. This is because the ears are very sensitive to
(
r the increase in pressure as you go lower toward the
~ b o t t o m of the bath.
I. Why does a bubble of gas coming up from the bed of a lake get bigger and
bigger as it gets nearer the surface?
2. Why is it necessary for men investigating the depths of the ocean to go
down in steel containers with walls several centimetres thick?
3. Would you expect the hot-water tap in the kitchen downstairs to run
faster than the hot-water tap in the bathroom upstairs if the hot tank was in the
attic and the taps were exactly similar?
,LJ,'Y-.;:;r, .- v"'f Jet'- v ;:
VCl[.ct lC');
[ PRESSURE I
,'; r r 't rTVv' 1 :7.he, I d A,.w /(.1.." VI..-
.. ",.. -' . -J i
Problems to think about
Ax) :::l- ,t'. ?\-t"..j ; {" j !.- ......t.
'uL), ',c" , .!,
!
7
Like liquids, gases also exert a pressure on their con-
tainers. If you blow up a balloon with a small hole in it,
you will find that the air comes out of it whichever direc-
tion you point the hole.
A soda siphon is a good example of a gas exerting a
pressure. The space above the liquid is filled with gas at
high pressure. When the valve is raised by the depression
of the lever, the gas pushes down on the liquid and forces
it up the tube and through the outlet. Another example is
the aerosol spray, which also contains gas under pressure
that forces liquid out when the valve is opened.
Air pressure plays a most important part in the tyres of
PRESSURE OF GASES
spring
gas under
pressure
spring
valve open valve closed
valve
gas at high
Aerosol spray
8
your bicycle and the tyres of a motor car. It manages to
support the bicycle and to prevent the road rubbing on the
rim of the bicycle wheel.
Problems to think about
I. When a steam train blew its whistle, clouds of steam came out through the
whistle. What made the steam come out?
2. A car has its tyres at a pressure of 15 kgf/cm- (22Ibfjin'). What will happen
to the tyres if four heavy people get in as passengers?
3. If you put a cork loosely in a bottle of fizzy lemonade and then shake the
bottle, why will the cork fly out?
4. A bicycle pump can force air into a tyre, even when the air inside is at
quite a high pressure. If you make a hole in the tyre, air would come out and
not go in. How do you think the pump works?
5. The pressure of the air in our atmosphere has a considerable effect on the
weather; can you think how pressure variations might be responsible for
winds?
Some experiments to try at home
I. Find a flat piece of firm soil in the garden and stand on it in your ordinary
flat shoes. Borrow an old pair of your mother's high-heeled shoes and try
again. Notice the difference in the depth of the imprints.
2. Take a heavy pile of books and tic them up with thin string. Make a loop
at the top and hold the books up for a full minute with your fingers through
the loop. Then slip a rolling. pin through the loop and hold the books up with
it. Why does it hurt in one case and not in the other?
3. Obtain an old plastic detergent bottle, preferably one about 25 cm high.
First make a hole in it near the bottom, using a drawing pin. Then fill the
bottle with water and watch the water running out of the hole with the cap
screwed back on and also with the cap off. Can you explain the different
effects? Secondly, make many holes with the drawing pin all round the con-
tainer and at different depths. Fill the bottle with water, screw the cap back on
and squeeze the bottle. Does this tell you anything about the direction of the
liquid pressure?
4. Obtain a milk bottle, a drinking straw and some Plasticine.';. Fill the bottle
one-third full of water and put the straw through the Plasticine, which should
be pressed down on top of the bottle as illustrated. Make sure that you have an
air-tight join between the Plasticine, the bottle and the straw. Throughout the
experiment you must push down firmly with your hands on the Plasticine. See
how many bubbles of air you can blow into the bottle through the water. When
you have done this, and are still keeping your hands pressed down, take your
mouth away from the straw. Can you explain what happens? (This experiment
is better done in the open air, or over a sink or in the bathroom.)
5. Take a bicycle pump, put your finger over the end and feel the 'springiness'
of the air when you compress it. Can you explain this?
* Many of the experiments in this book are done with milk bottles, drinking straws
and Plasticine. A/I these will give satisfactory results, but if rubber corks and glass
tubes are available they are sometimes easier to use.
A summary of the effects of pressure can be seen in Appendix 2 (Nos 2 to 5).
PRESSURE
DIFFERENCE
We have discussed how liquids and gases exert pressure.
If a region of high pressure is connected to a region of
----_.. -- . - - - _ . _ - ~
1 0 ~ e r pressure, the liquid or gas will flow from the region
of higher pressure to the lower-pressure region until the
.pressures balance. Whenever two pressures are un-
balanced, movement occurs trying to restore the balance.
You can show this with a very simple example. Blow
out your cheeks keeping your mouth shut: this gives a
high-pressure region in your mouth. Then put your hand
in front of your mouth and open your mouth. You will feel
the air rushing out of the high-pressure region until it
reaches the same pressure as the atmosphere outside.
VACUUM AND PARTIAL VACUUM
Some standard has to be taken for absolute pressure, and
the pressure of the air in the atmosphere at ground level
is the normal standard. We shall be considering this in a
later chapter.
_A space containing gas which exerts a pressure less than
that of the atmosphere outside is saidto contain a partial
vacuum.
The extreme case of this is if all the gas is removed
from a space and thus no pressure is exerted in it. In this
space we say that there is a vacuum.
You know already that in liquids the pressure increases .
with depth below the surface of the liquid. Think about a
pIece-of tubing, half-full of water, held in the shape of aU.
9
PRESSURE
DIFFERENCE
10
The water level on each side will be the same. Suppose
one side of the tube is raised quickly as shown. The pres-
sure at the bottom of the water on the right is greater than
that at the bottom of the water on the left because of the
greater depth. The water will then flow from the right to
the left until the pressures balance and the levels are again
the same. (If you can get a piece of transparent tubing,
try it at home for yourself.)
In the laboratory you will have seen another most im-
portant experiment. What happened if water was put in a
U-tube in which the two arms were different sizes? This
experiment suggests that the pressure ina
-on,netkpthandiiot on how much liquid there is.
-- .. -
In anycontainer, whatever itsshape, the .liquid.level
tl1esame in all parts. It is often said that 'water finds its
ownlevel'.
Some things to think about
I. Why does air come out of a balloon when the mouthpiece is open'?
2. What affects the rate at which a liquid flows out of a hole in a tank'?
3. Why do winds blow'?
4. What happens to the level of water over a very great distance, say several
miles'? Does it still find its own level'?
PRESSURE
DIFFERENCE
MEASUREMENT OF PRESSURE
DIFFERENCE
Manometers
U-tubes can be very useful for measuring pressure dif-
ferences. You have probably used at school a large u-
tube to measure your lung pressure. Such tubes are given
the special name of manometers.
You probably also measured lung pressure with a
smaller manometer containing mercury in the tube. You
get a much smaller difference in that case because
mercury is heavier than water: it has a much higher
density than water. The difference in height with water is
136 times greater than it is with mercury, since mercury
is 136 times more dense.
II
connected to gas
~ ~
.Manometers can be used for measuring gas pressures.
If the gas is connected to one side of the tube and the
other is left open to the atmosphere, the difference in
height measures the difference in pressure between the gas
? and the atmosphere. The diameter of the tube on the right
in the diagram does not matter, as you already know. In
fact it could even be a large glass bottle as shown in the
third diagram; the difference in height would be the same
in each case.
Problems to think about
I. When measuring the pressure of the town-gas supply, water is used in the
manometer. When measuring a high pressure, a heavy liquid like mercury is
more convenient. Why is this'?
2. In the third diagram above, the supply was connected to a small tube
going into the bottom of a large glass bottle. Suppose that the supply was
connected instead to the top of the hottle. Where would the liquid level come
in the side tube'?
12
The Bourdon pressure gauge
You will be familiar with the toy, shown on the left, often
used at Christmas parties. The Bourdon pressure gauge,
which is used for measuring the pressure of gases, is based
on the same principle. When the pressure in the tube
increases, the tube tries to straighten out and the pointer
rotates. A scale can be put on the front of the gauge. Any
pressure gauge which has a pointer moving over a scale is
likely to be this sort of instrument; car oil-pressure gauges
usually work in this way.
pressure to be measured
tube
case
Bourdon gauge
Industrial valves
CONTROL OF PRESSURE DIFFERENCES
When a high-pressure liquid or gas is connected to one at
low pressure, there is a flow from the high pressure to the
low pressure. Many of our everyday appliances depend on
pressure difference and we need to be able to regulate
this flow. We need to use taps and valves: The tap enables
us to stop or reduce the flow when we want to; the valve
enables us to control the direction of flow.
13
PRESSURE
DIFFERENCE
The domestic gas tap
This consists of a cylinder with a hole through it, which
fits into a circular opening in the gas supply tube. When
the tap is closed, the hole is not in line with the gas supply.
When the tap is open, the hole connects the gas main to
the fire or cooker and gas flows.
gas
supply ----7
closed
14
open
The domestic water tap
The gas tap above would not be very satisfactory as a
domestic water tap. Can you suggest why not?
When the domestic water tap shown above is opened,
the washer is lifted up and water flows. When the tap is
closed, the washer is pressed against the bottom and the
flow stops. The washer is made of either leather or rubber;
it can get worn and has to be replaced occasionally.
PRESSURE
DIFFERENCE
The ball-cock
The ball-cock is a special kind of tap used in the water
tanks in the attic and in the lavatory cistern. When water
is used from the tank, the level of water goes down. The
ball floating on the water descends as the water level falls.
The tap then opens to let water flow into the tank again.
As the water from the inlet pipe fills the tank, the floating
ball rises and closes the inlet. This ingenious device fills
the tanks automatically without their overflowing.
washer
15
Non-return valves
A non-return valve is a device which will allow a flow in
only one direction. There are valves for gases, valves for
liquids and even valves for electricity, all of which allow
flow in one way only.
Perhaps the easiest way to understand the idea of a non-
return valve is to make a very simple one. Take a sheet of
paper, moisten your lips, open your mouth wide and press
the paper against your lips, all round, as illustrated. Blow
air out from your mouth; you will find it comes out quite
easily. Now try drawing air into your mouth: it cannot be
done because the paper is forced against your lips, block-
ing the entry. You have made a simple non-return valve
for your mouth. It allows air to go out, but not to come in.
A simple liquid non-return valve
A simple non-return valve for liquids, like that shown
below, can be put within a pipe or at its opening.
If the liquid is at a higher pressure on the left, it pushes
open the hinge and liquid flows from left to right. If it is at
a higher pressure on the right, it presses the rubber
washer against the metal and liquid cannot flow. A similar
arrangement can be used for gases as well as for liquids.
16
hard rubber
liqu.d can \ ~ ~ ~
flow through ~
liquid cannot
flow through
PRESSURE
DIFFERENCE
The valve on a bicycle tyre
This consists of a metal tube with a small hole at one side,
closed bya short length of rubber tubing (valve rubber)
fitting tightly over the tube. When air is forced in from the
bicycle pump, it presses out the rubber tubing and enters
the tyre. When the air from the tyre tries to get out, the
rubber tubing is forced against the hole and the air cannot
escape. Some bicycles now use valves of the motor-car
type.
pump
The valve on a motor car tyre
When the pressure from the pump exceeds that of the air
in the tyre, air is forced past the tyre valve into the tyre.
When the pump is withdrawn the air in the tyre forces the
valve back against the metal. Air can be released by press-
ing the metal extension of the valve.
cap for screwing valve onto tyre
P ~ ; ; ' ~ ; ? I i i " ' : Nee
metal extension rubber valve
17
PRESSURE
DIFFERENCE
T
high pressure line
18
The safety valve
Many systems contain liquids or gases at a high pressure.
If the pressure were allowed to get too high, there would
be danger of an explosion. For this reason safety valves
are fitted. Many of them are like the liquid valve above,
but the hinge is replaced by a firm spring which keeps the
valve closed unless a very high pressure is reached, when
the spring valve is forced open to allow the pressure to
drop. How do you think these valves could be modified
so that they would open at different pressures? You may
see such a safety valve on a model steam engine in your
school laboratory. Pressure cookers and many devices in
industry also use safety valves.
Can you spot the safety valve on this
industrial boiler?
Pressure cooker
19
PRESSURE
DIFFERENCE
Some things to think about
I. The heart has two main valves for the blood. What do you think is the
function of each?
2. The diagram below shows an attachment for a bicycle pump which is used
for blowing up footballs. How does it work?
3. A snorkel is used for swimming face downward, looking at the sea bed.
What is the purpose of the table-tennis ball?
pulmonary artery
(to the lungs)
venae cavae
(from the body)
tricuspid valve
aorta
(to the body)
pulmonary vein
(from the lungs)
mitral
(bicuspid valve)
20
edge of hole bent over
to stop ball-bearing
Football adaptor (old type)
ball-bearing smooth circular end
PRESSURE
DIFFERENCE
Some things to do at home
I. Look at the tanks at home and see the ball-cocks working. Find the main
stop-cocks in the water system and decide the use of each.
2. An amusing experiment on pressure difference: shell a small hard-boiled
egg (not too hard-boiled) and place it in the neck of a milk bottle. It should
be a little too large to go into the bottle. Light a small piece of tissue paper
with a match and drop it into the bottle. Replace the egg quickly. The oxygen
in the air inside will be used in burning the paper and the gas inside will be at a
lower pressure than the air outside, so the egg will be pushed into the bottle.
To get the egg out, first wash away the paper, then turn the bottle upside
down and blow into it as hard as you can. When you stop, the high pressure
inside should blowout the egg.
21
APPLICATIONS
OF THE
PRESSURE
CAUSED BY
LIQUIDS
Considerable use is made of the pressure of liquids both in
our homes and in industry. Some of these applications
will be considered in this section.
THE PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY
In every town and city in Britain there is a public water
system which supplies water to every house and factory.
The water may come from a deep well below the ground.
It is pumped from this well into a reservoir, which is often
covered. The reservoir is always situated on high ground,
above all the places it is going to serve. (Why is this?)
Water then flows out from the reservoir to the consumers.
The water pressure depends on the height of the reservoir
above the height of the consumers.
purnoino house
pump
C.------------_I::
well
Problems to think about
I. The pressure in the public supply is sometimes inadequate for water to
reach the top of a multi-storied building and a subsidiary pump has to be used.
Why is this?
2. Most houses have a water-storage tank in the attic. Does the pressure at
the water tap in the kitchen depend on the height of the storage tank or on the
height of the reservoir?
22
APPLICATIONS OF THE
PRESSURE CAUSED
BY LIQUIDS
The Kariba dam on the Zambesi river
Water dams
Many public water systems depend on artificial reservoirs
made by building water dams, usually across a valley in
which a river is flowing. The pressure of water produced
in this way can be used to generate electricity and the
water itself can be used for irrigation or the public supply.
The engineer has to calculate the huge pressure that will
be exerted on the wall of the dam. It must have deep
foundations and very secure connections to the sides of
the valley or it would be swept away.
Problem to think about
The walls of a dam are usually very much thicker at the bottom than they are
at the top. Why is this?
23
SIPHONS
Siphons are widely used to carry water over such barriers
as the side of an irrigation ditch. The principle of their
operation is quite simple.
The siphon will work only if the tube is completely full
of water. The water in E starts to fall, creating a partial
vacuum at D. There is then a higher pressure on the left at
B than at 0, so the water flows, going into the tube at A
and out at E. The siphon will continue to work as long as
both the ends A and E are below the water level B.
c
D
E
t
24
Siphons are most useful for getting liquids out of con-
tainers that cannot be tipped easily, for example getting
wine out of a barrel. Petrol thieves use siphons for stealing
petrol out of cars, which is why it is advisable to have a
lock on the petrol tank. Siphons are useful in biology
laboratories for emptying or cleaning fish tanks. The
siphon can be used as a kind of 'vacuum cleaner' to take
away the dirt without completely emptying the tank. In
each of these cases, the process is started by sucking the
tube until it is full of liquid and then lowering the free end
below the level of the liquid in the container to be emptied.
Problems to think about
I. Is the soda siphon (see page 7) in fact misnamed? Is it a siphon at all?
2. A man fills a swimming pool from a tap as shown on the next page. When
the bath is full, he turns off the tap and disconnects the hose from it. What
might happen?
APPLICATIONS OF THE
PRESSURE CAUSED
BY LIQUIDS
The water-flushing system
Most water-flushing systems use a siphon arrangement.
The simplest and most common type is shown below.
When the chain is pulled, the disc is raised. Water is
lifted up the narrow tube, flows over the bend and a
siphoning action starts. The disc has holes in it and there
is a rubber diaphragm fixed to the top of the disc at its
centre. The rubber acts as a non-return valve, so that the
water can flow up into the top of the cylinder, but not
down from the top and out of the cylinder. The siphoning
continues until the water level falls below the level of the
cylinder. There will also be a ball-cock (see page 15) to
control the filling of the tank again. (Not all lavatory
cisterns have the rubber diaphragm: a loosely fitting
piston will act almost as well.)
rubber diaphragm
25
APPLICATIONS OF THE
PRESSURE CAUSED
BY LIQUIDS
---
Some things to do at home
I. Obtain two large glass jam jars and fill them both half-full of water. Put a
rubber tube into one and suck it so that it is full of water. Then immerse the
end in the other jar. Move the jars up and down relative to each other so that
water flows one way, then the other: the water always stops flowing when the
levels are the same in each jar. Both ends of the tube must always remain
under water.
26
2. Moving water down by steps: obtain four clear squash bottles or milk bottles,
and three lengths of rubber tubing. Put the bottles on the stairs as shown.
Fill the top bottle half-full of water and the next two a little less than quarter-
full. Put the top end of each rubber tube right down to the bottom of the
bottle and make sure the other end is lower than the top end. You have to start
each siphon by sucking, starting from the top. Watch what happens. Be careful
not to use more than one bottle of water altogether!
HYDRAULICS
When a liquid is confined in a space and a pressure is
applied to it, the pressure is transmitted equally to all
parts of that liquid. You saw this in your home experiment
on p. 8: when the polythene container was pressed hard
the water squirted out in all directions.
Liquids are practically incompressible. This means that
if you have one litre of water, however hard you try to
squash it you will still have one litre. If it is pressed down
in one place it must come up in another.
These two important facts, combined with the fact that
force d i h d li I {", I" '
pressure = area' are use In y rau lCS. ( :,C{,',cf< ''.'''C:-,:... ' ~ ,.
A liquid-filled cylinder with a thin tube"' at one end with
a piston in it, and a thick tube at the other end with a
piston in it, shows the simplest form of hydraulic system.
This is how it works. If the area of tube A is I cm-, and
the piston is pushed with a force of 5 kgf, a pressure of
5 kgf will be exerted on each square centimetre of liquid.
This pressure is transmitted equally to all parts of the
liquid. Piston B will experience a pressure all over it of
5 kgf on each square centimetre. Ifpiston Bhas an area of
10 ern", the total force on it will be 5X 10 or 50 kgf. This
means that pushing the rod at A with a certain force will
push out the rod at B with ten times that force. This en-
ables very large forces to be produced using quite small
ones.
liquid
5 kgf
small piston A
1 em'
~
50 kgf
large piston B
10 em'
27
APPLICATIONS OF THE
PRESSURE CAUSED
BY LIQUIDS
It appears that we are getting something for nothing,
but this is not really so. Can you think why?
The above experiment shows us that a small area of an
enclosed liquid will produce a large force over a large area
of the same liquid. This principle is used in all sorts of
present-day machinery. Hydraulic presses, car jacks, fork
lifts, bulldozers, car brakes, retractable undercarriages,
tipping lorries, railway points and dust carts are a few of
the many examples.
The hydraulic jack
Like all the hydraulic machinery, the jack works on this
very simple principle, but a system of valves and
reservoirs of liquid (usually oil) is needed to make it
practical.
When the handle is lifted the small piston is pushed in.
This forces the liquid along the tube, closing valve A to the
reservoir and opening valve B. Something has to give: the
only thing that can move is the large piston. It is pushed
up and, as it has a large area, it exerts a large force.
handle
large piston
sealing washer
28
small piston reservoir
APPLICATIONS OF THE
PRESSURE CAUSED
BY LIQUIDS
When the handle is lowered the small piston moves
back and liquid must flow into the pipe or a vacuum
would be created. Liquid cannot flow back through valve
B so the large piston stays up. But valve A opens and
liquid flows out of the reservoir into the pipe. When the
handle is raised again, the large piston is lifted further and
this process can be repeated many times. When you want
to lower the large piston, the release valve is opened and
the liquid flows straight back into the reservoir.
If you have understood this, you have understood the
principle on which all hydraulic machinery works.
Motor car brakes
Here the actual piston is pressed in by a system of levers
from the foot pedal. The master cylinder is connected to a
reservoir as in the jack. (This is not shown in the diagram.)
The pressure is transmitted through the fluid in the pipes
and forces the brake shoes against the brake drums evenly
on all four wheels.
front wheel brake drums
off
rear wheel brake drums
fluid pipe lines
fluid pipe lines
29
Hydraulic digger
Hydraulicfork-lift truck
30
Hydraulic press
APPLICATIONS OF THE
PRESSURE CAUSED
BY LIQUIDS
Problems to think about
I. Why is it very dangerous if any of the fluid pipes break in the braking
system of a car? If there is a break near the front wheel what happens to the
other brakes?
2. Can you adapt the hydraulic jack described to make it into a hydraulic
press?
3. To put on the footbrake of a car the pedal is pushed down several centi-
metres, yet the brake shoes move only a fraction of a centimetre. Can you
explain why this is?
Some things to do at home
I. For this experiment you need either a rubber hot-water bottle with a cork
and rubber tubing, or an air cushion with a blow tube, or a football bladder
and tubing, or even a large balloon. Join the tube to the hot-water bottle
and pile a large heap of heavy books on the hot-water bottle. Blow down the
tube and you will find the huge weight of books rises quite easily. (Get a friend
to steady the books.) This shows that even quite a small pressure, if exerted
over a large area, can produce a very big force.
2. This is an adaptation of the previous experiment. It is rather more difficult
to do. Put some water in the hot-water bottle (not very full), and hold up the
tube (transparent tubing is best) as in the diagram. Now stand on a board
covering the hot-water bottle and see how high the water comes. If you have
a funnel and pour more water into the tube, you will notice that you and not
the water level will rise. Why is this? The larger the area of board in contact
with the bottle the lower the level of water. Why do you suppose this is?
31
THE
PRESSURE
OF THE
ATMOSPHERE
32
We have seen that liquids and gases exert pressure on the
things around them. The atmosphere is made of gases,
chiefly nitrogen and oxygen. Wherever there is an atmo-
sphere it exerts a pressure on everything in contact with it.
In the work you have done at school it will have been
suggested that gases are made up of tiny particles moving
about at great speed. These collide with anything in their
path and cause a pressure against them.
Something to do at home
I. You may have done this experiment at school, but if you have not you can
do it now. Get a kitchen balance and a large tin full of marbles or even dried
peas. Put a board at an angle on the balance and pour the marbles onto it
from a height. You will see that the balance reading is greater than zero even
though no marbles actually stay on the board. This shows that the bouncing
particles exert a force.
Perhaps the most famous experiment of all on the pressure of the
atmosphere was that done by a German called von Guerickc. He used two
copper hemispheres. The hemispheres fitted together so perfectly that with a
greased leather washer between them they made an airtight joint They could
be pulled apart quite easily when full of air, but when the air was drawn out
by means of an air pump which von Guericke had devised, an enormous force
was required to separate them. This was explained by the fact that the
pressure of the air on the outside was no longer being balanced by an equal
pressure inside.
The experiment was done with hemispheres about a foot in diameter before
the Emperor Ferdinand 1lI in 1651, when two teams of sixteen horses were
required to pull them apart.
suck
r
Problems to think about
I. At the top of a mountain the atmospheric pressure is less than at sea level.
Why do you think this is?
2. Why may it be difficult to get enough breath to exert oneself on a high
mountain?
3. (Difficult) A man walking in space has an oxygen mask over his face so that
he can breathe. But he also needs a space suit to cover his whole body. Why?
Some things to do at home
I. Place a postcard over a tumbler full of water. Make certain there is no air
bubble. When the tumbler is turned over the water will remain in the tumbler.
The upward force on the card due to the atmosphere is greater than the down-
ward force due to the water. (It is advisable to try this experiment over the
bath I)
2. Lay a thin slat of wood about I m long on a table with one end extending
over the edge. Strike this end with your fist and it flies off the table. Now
place the slat back on the table and cover the part on the table with a few
sheets of newspaper, with perhaps a piece of light cardboard underneath. Now
hit the free end again hard. The effect you will find is due to the greater weight
of air that presses on the larger surface of the papers.
3. This is a spectacular experiment and well worth doing. When the air is
taken out of a large tin can (an oil can will do) it crumples up. The pressure
of the outside atmosphere is no longer balanced by the pressure of the air
inside. Most of the air can be removed from the can by boiling a little water
in the bottom, which fills the can with steam and drives out the air. If the
can is now sealed and then plunged into cold water the steam condenses,
leaving a partial vacuum inside the can. Remember it is very important not to
boil the water with the cap on, which could cause a dangerous explosion. A
good seal is also important: some Vaseline on the screw cap can help this.
4. A balloon attached to a drinking straw inside a milk bottle will swell out
as the bottle is evacuated, since the atmospheric pressure inside the balloon
is greater than that outside it. The simplest form of home vacuum pump is
yourself. Use two straws, one with a balloon on, and an airtight seal with
Plasticine. Suck through the free straw and the balloon expands, blow
through it and the balloon collapses. This is probably the first time you will
have blown up a balloon by sucking. Our lungs use the same principle, as will
be explained below.
33
34
BREATHING
A simple example of how we breathe is provided by the
apparatus shown (left). You may have seen this in class.
When the marble is pulled the rubber sheet comes down
and a partial vacuum is formed inside the jar. No air can
get into the jar, but air can come down the tube and blow
up the balloon in an attempt to make the pressure the
same as the air outside. When the marble is released the
balloon is squashed again and the air rushes back into the
atmosphere.
In your body your ribs and skin take the place of the
glass jar used in the model. Instead of the rubber sheet
there is a sheet of muscle called the diaphragm across the
bottom of the chest cavity. This makes the cavity airtight.
When the muscles of the diaphragm, which is shaped
like an inverted saucer, contract, it becomes flatter. This
enlarges the chest cavity and, together with expansion of
the rib cage, causes a partial vacuum into which the air
from the atmosphere flows. The reverse happens on
exhaling.
In order to get the maximum amount of oxygen to the
lungs it is important to breathe properly.
THE PRESSURE OF
THE ATMOSPHERE
v-
vacuum pump
76cm
76cm
MEASURING THE PRESSURE OF THE
ATMOSPHERE
An instrument for measuring the pressure of the atmo-
sphere is called a barometer. The pressure of the
atmosphere is caused by the weight of the air above us,
and the simplest form of measurement is to balance this
against a column of mercury.
The mercury barometer
If a large U-tube is filled with mercury and a vacuum
pump is attached to one side the difference in levels is 76
ern. This means that the pressure of the air is the same as
76 em of mercury.
An easier way to do this is to fill a tube, sealed at one
end, with mercury and turn it upside down in a trough of
mercury. The level falls until the pressure at the base of
the tube is the same as the air pressure. Only the
atmosphere is exerting a pressure above the open trough
and there is only the pressure of the mercury in the tube,
since there is a vacuum above it which can exert no pres-
sure. The thickness of the tube does not matter. A
thicker tube would give a bigger weight over a bigger area
and hence the same pressure, as we have seen in the
manometer on p. 12.
By weighing the mercury we discover that the average
pressure of the atmosphere is about I kgf on each square
centimetre.
If the table at which you are sitting is about I m square
(10 000 cm2), the total force on top of the table is about 10
tonnes, like a small steam roller. The only reason why the
table does not collapse is that, as we have seen before, the
air pressure acts equally in all directions and there is an
equal force underneath pressing upward.
The aneroid barometer
The most common type of domestic barometer contains
no mercury but has a corrugated container with a partial
vacuum inside. The can is kept from collapsing by a
35
THE PRESSURE OF
THE ATMOSPHERE
36
fair
stormy
strong spring. When the atmospheric pressure on the can
changes, the spring moves slightly. This movement is
magnified by a series of small levers and moves a pointer
round a scale marked Stormy, Change, Fair, etc., as a
very rough guide to the weather.
levers for
magnifying movement
hmge
corrugated metal box
partially exhausted of air
The barograph
This is exactly the same as an aneroid barometer but it is
used for making a continuous record of the pressure. The
needle is replaced by a pen, and a drum slowly rotates
with a paper on it.
Something to do at home
I. To make your own barometer, cut the end from a round toy balloon. Then
stretch it smoothly over the mouth of a milk bottle and tie it in place. Fasten
one end of a drinking straw to the centre of the rubber cap with a drop of seal-
ing wax. For a scale, mark some cardboard and prop it up beside the straw.
(This will give a true result only if readings are always taken at the same
temperature.)
When the pressure goes up, the cap is pushed in and the straw rises. When
the pressure falls the reverse happens.
APPLICATIONS
INVOLVING
ATMOSPHERIC
PRESSURE
Not only do we need the gases in the atmosphere to
breathe, but large numbers of things depend on the
pressure of the atmosphere.
Sucking through a straw
A true scientist will tell you that there is really no such
thing as sucking. The reason for this is that the effect of
sucking on a straw in a bottle of milk is in fact caused by
the pressure of the atmosphere pushing the substance into
your mouth. When you suck, you lower the pressure in-
side the straw and atmospheric pressure does the rest.
Something to try at home
I. Get a milk bottle and fill it right to the top with water. Put one straw
through some Plasticine and make an airtight seal. Now try and suck the
water out of the bottle. You will find you cannot do it.
Make a second hole in the Plasticine for another straw to let in air. You
can now suck the water out easily. The reason is that you create a low-
pressure region in your mouth and the atmosphere is at a greater pressure, so
it presses down on the water and presses the water up the tube. If there is no
air-hole the atmosphere cannot press down.
37
The syringe
This works on just the same principle as the straw: raising
the piston produces a low-pressure region and atmospheric
pressure pushes the liquid into the syringe.
The lift pump
This is used for getting water out of a well or tank. Study
the diagram to understand the working of the valves.
When the piston is raised a lower pressure is produced
in the cylinder. Valve B closes and valve A opens. The
atmosphere pushes water up the tube into the cylinder.
When the piston is lowered again, valve A is pushed shut
and valve B opens and the water passes through. When
the piston is raised again, more water comes from the well
into the cylinder and the water above B is lifted, coming
out of the spout. Thus water comes from the spout on
every subsequent upstroke of the pump.
38
Syringe
APPLICATIONS
INVOLVING
ATMOSPHERIC
PRESSURE
Problems to think about
I. It is not possible to use a lift pump to get water from a well much more
than 9 m deep. Why do you suppose this is?
2. This is a diagram of a force pump. There are valves at A and B. Try and
work out which way each one opens.
The force pump, as its name suggests, sends out water with a greater force
than the lift pump; it also sends out a more continuous supply. Can you sug-
gest why?
3. Rubber is a substance that always tends to return to its original shape after
being compressed. A pen nib has a small hole from the ink tube rather like
the nozzle of the syringe. Can you see how a fountain pen is filled with ink?
Why does it work?
metal strip filling lever
rubber tubing
39
APPLICATIONS
INVOLVING
ATMOSPHERIC
PRESSURE
Artificial lung
Artificial lung
A patient is put into an artificial lung when his diaphragm
muscles have stopped working and he cannot enlarge his
chest cavity on his own. His body is enclosed by an air-
tight metal container. A pump unit alternately increases
and decreases the pressure inside the container. When the
pressure inside the container is below atmospheric pres-
sure, air is forced through the patient's mouth or nose into
his lungs. When above atmospheric pressure the air is
forced out. The behaviour is like the glass jar and balloon
experiment, described on p. 34.
Altimeter
This is essentially the same as an aneroid barometer. The
zero is altered according to the prevailing atmospheric
conditions communicated to the pilot by radio. As pres-
sure drops with height the needle goes round and is
graduated in feet above sea level. The pressure drops
approximately the equivalent of I em of mercury for every
120 mr-
40
wall
atmosphere
pressing In
Rubber suckers
Rubber suckers are used for a variety of purposes: for
wall hooks, for picking up sheets of metal and in general
for gripping on any smooth surface.
Their operation depends on atmospheric pressure.
When the rubber cap is pushed against the smooth
surface, air is forced out from between the cap and the
surface. When the cap is released the rubber goes back to
its original shape and a partial vacuum is created inside.
The force of the atmospheric pressure on the outside
holds the attached object in position against the surface.
A large sheet of plate glass. held by Weather maps
rubber suckers. being moved in afactory
From large numbers of recording stations over wide areas
of the earth the pattern of atmospheric pressure is built
up. The lines linking areas of equal pressure are called
isobars. The patterns usually form wide loops. If the
pressure is high in the centre of the loop it is called an
anticyclone, and if it is low, a cyclone or depression. If the
isobars are close together the winds are strong and if far
apart the winds are weak.
41
You would expect the winds to blow straight from high
pressure to low pressure, but because of the effect of the
rotation of the earth this is not in fact the case. In the
Northern Hemisphere the winds tend to blow clockwise
round an anticyclone (high-pressure area) and anticlock-
wise round a cyclone (low-pressure area).
The darker lines that you see are called fronts, either
where a mass of warm air is moving over cold air
[ ., a warm front], or where cold air is
moving under warm air ~ , .. , a cold front],
Rain is often associated with these fronts, particularly
with warm ones.
With these maps meteorologists are able to give a
rough guide to what the weather is likely to be for several
hours ahead.
42
Problems to think about
I. If a pilot flies into a low-pressure region without having been warned from
the meteorological report, it can be very dangerous. Why?
2. This is a diagram of a plunger used for clearing blocked waste pipes. Try
to explain how it works.
It works better if the pipe and cap are full of water. Why do you think this
is? (difficult). This is called 'the plumber's friend'.
3. Why do you think the winds are stronger when the isobars are closer
together?
Something to do at home
To do this experiment you need some sort of rubber sucker, a tin and some
weights. Attach the rubber sucker to the tin with a piece of string. Push the
sucker onto a flat surface between two chairs. See how many weights are
required to pull it off. This will give you some idea of the force of the
atmosphere on the sucker.
smooth surface
tin for weights
43
HIGH
PRESSURES
cylinder
We have already seen that a liquid cannot be compressed,
but gases are 'squashy' and we can use this squashiness to
do useful things.
If we enclose a gas and then make the volume smaller
the pressure of the gas increases. This certainly makes
sense if we consider the gas as made up of lots of fast-
moving invisible particles which are causing the pressure.
When the volume is made smaller, each particle will hit
the side more often and consequently there will be a
greater pressure overall.
There are many useful applications of gases under pres-
sure. They all depend on the tendency of a compressed
gas to expand in volume when the pressure is released and
to compress again when the pressure increases. The com-
pressed gas inside the soda siphon (p. 7) expands when
the valve is open and pushed the liquid out of the spout.
The compressed air inside a car or bicycle tyre causes it
to move in and out on rough roads, smoothing the
journey over the stones and potholes.
We will now consider some of the applications of com-
pressed gas.
spring -----.-.,......,
,
connector to tvre valve
The bicycle pump
The bicycle pump has a piston which moves up and down
inside a cylinder. The piston has a cup-shaped leather
washer pointing downward and this acts as a pump valve,
allowing air to go only downward. When the piston is
pushed down, the air between the piston and the tyre
valve (p. 17) is compressed and the sides of the washer
pressing against the cylinder walls provide an airtight
seal. When the pressure between the two valves becomes
greater than that in the tyre, air is forced past the tyre
valve into the tyre. When the piston is brought back, the
washer no longer presses hard against the cylinder and air
comes from the handle end filling the space.
44
The rotary air pump
This pump can be used for producing a better and more
continuous supply of compressed air. It is driven by a
motor and thus the valve effect works very much more
quickly.
The central disc rotates as illustrated, and has two
spring-loaded vanes incorporated in it which maintain
contact with the walls of the containing cylinder. This
contact is airtight and the whole is immersed in oil. Study
the diagrams carefully and see" if you can see how it works.
Notice that one part of the central disc is always in con-
tact with the containing cylinder. (The density of dots in
the diagram indicates the pressure of the air.) If this pump
is connected to a closed vessel at the intake it can be used
as a vacuum pump.
Pneumatic drill
A pneumatic drill is really an air hammer and it is exceed-
ingly useful for digging and breaking up rocks or con-
crete. It is really like a pump that works backwards. A
tube carries compressed air to the cylinder; inside the
cylinder a piston moves back and forth very rapidly as a
valve opens and closes.
Riveters
A rivet is a type of metal bolt for binding two pieces of
metal together. The headless end is passed through two
holes and then flattened out. To do this a hammer piston
worked on compressed air like the pneumatic drill is used.
The air rifle and the pea-shooter
The air rifle is a rather grander automatic version of the
simple pea-shooter.
Put a small pellet in the end of a drinking straw (or a
hollow Biro tube) so that it just fits the hole, and then put
that end of the tube into your mouth. When you produce
a sudden increase of pressure in your mouth, there is
nowhere for the gas to escape except down the tube. To
go down the tube it has to press the pellet in front of it and
it is shot out at the end.
In the air rifle the spring is attached to a cylinder and
piston. When the piston is pulled back the spring is caught
on a catch. The catch is released by pulling the trigger, the
_. spring compresses the air in the cylinder very suddenly
R==r7O"irr
and the only way it can escape is by pushing the exactly
fitting pellet out of the barrel.
The cartridge rifle works on the same principle, but the
compressed gas is made even more instantaneously by
exploding chemicals with a hammer blow.
pellet washer piston mainspring
46
[HIGH PRESSUREi]
Hovercraft
The hovercraft is a comparatively new form of com-
mercial use of compressed air. A powerful air pump
forces air downward and the only way that it can escape
is by raising the whole craft until the curtains are just
clear of the ground. This means that the craft floats on a
cushion of air. It is then driven along by propellers on top
just like an aeroplane. It can go over land or water and
can move much faster than a ship as it does not have the
same drag of water to stop it.
47
I HIGH PRESSURES I
Steam pressure
When water boils it turns into steam; if the steam is kept
in an enclosed region it will exert a considerable pressure.
This pressure can be used to drive pistons or turn
turbines. Much of our electricity is made by burning coal
or oil, or by using nuclear power to turn water into steam.
The steam turns a turbine, which drives a generator,
which produces electricity.
Above: Steam-driven piston of a locomotive Below: A steam turbine at a power station
[ ~ U G H PRESSURES I
The pressure cooker
The pressure cooker is another device which uses gas
under pressure. As the gas (steam) above the water is at a
high pressure, the temperature at which the water boils is
raised and consequently everything cooks more quickly.
It is a common misconception that it is the pressure forc-
ing the steam into the food which gives the speed of
cooking, but in fact the increase of temperature is the
important thing.
The more weights that are put on the valve the higher
the pressure and therefore the higher the temperature at
which the water boils.
safety valve
pressure control valve ---r'-------
Internal combustion engines
All internal combustion engines work on the principle
that if an explosion of fuel and air takes place in a con-
fined space, considerable pressure is built up. This pres-
sure can be utilised for driving machinery. The petrol
engine, diesel engine, jet engine and rockets all work on
this principle. These are discussed in detail in other books
in this series.
49
[ HIGH PRESSURES I
Problems to think about
I. What other devices do you know that use compressed air?
2. This is a diagram of a door check. How do you think it works?
/' /'
//'/'/'/'/'/'\/'/' door
/ /'
/' /'
/' /'
/' /'
/' /'
/' /'
./ /'
./ /'
/' /'
/' ./
././ /'
./
-:
3. This is a bulb pump for blowing up air mattresses. How does it work?
circular h o l e ~
intake
--7
r-r-r-r-r--r-r-r- to lilo
50
4. Why is it difficult to hard boil an egg on top of a high mountain?
Some things to do at home
I. Take a bicycle pump apart and examine the valve; turn the valve round
and see how it becomes a suction pump.
2. Fill a milk bottle almost full of water. Put a block of Plasticine over the
top and turn the bottle upside down. Notice that you can change the size of
the air bubble by pressing hard on the Plasticine. (Do this over a basin ')
PROTECTION
AGAINST
EXTREMES
OF
PRESSURE
The human body has evolved in an atmosphere which
exerts a pressure equal to I kgf per square centimetre.
When this pressure is changed great care has to be taken.
The ear is probably the human organ most sensitive to
changes of pressure, and you may have noticed your ears
'popping' when going up or down a big hill in a car, the
pressure being greater in the valley. You will certainly
have felt this pressure on your ears if you have swum to
the bottom of a swimming bath at the deep end.
The diagram of the ear shows the auditory or
Eustachian tube which exists to equalise the pressure on
either side of the ear drum. If this is blocked, quite small
changes of pressure could burst the ear drum. If it were
perfectly free, there would be no discomfort over a range
of several atmospheres. The sensation comes from slight
blockage and can usually be relieved by swallowing,
which opens up the tube.
You may have guessed that sound may be some sort of
pressure phenomenon as it makes the ear drum move.
51
52
DEEP SEA DIVING
When a diver goes down to examine a sunken ship, he
needs a supply of air for breathing. This air is usually
supplied through a long tube from a ship on the surface.
Air pumps on the ship force air down the tube.
As the diver goes deeper, the water pressure becomes
greater. To overcome this water pressure, the pressure
of the air going down the tube must be increased. If a
diver goes down only 20 m the pressure of the air must be
three times as great as atmospheric pressure, or about
what it is in a car tyre. The deeper he goes, the greater the
pressure must be.
The diver has to be brought back to the surface very
slowly so that the pressure on him lessens gradually;
otherwise he is likely to suffer from a very dangerous com-
plaint known as 'the bends'. The bends occur because at
high pressure extra nitrogen dissolves in the blood. If the
pressure is released quickly bubbles may form in the
blood as the nitrogen comes out. If this happens in the
brain it is often fatal.
The diving bell
This is used for work on the sea bed. The cabin is lowered
to the sea bottom and air is forced in from the ship above
to clear the water. The divers then work in their bubble.
The bathyscaphe
Water depths of up to 10000 m can be examined by deep
ocean exploration. At this depth the pressure on any
object is some 1000 kgf force on each square centimetre
or nearly I tonne per square centimetre. No human being
could withstand this pressure without protection, so
people are lowered in a spherical steel chamber with walls
about 15 ern thick, called a bathyscaphe, to examine the
depths. You will understand the necessity of this strength
of protection if you have done the experiment of the col-
lapsing can on p. 33. The pressures here are 1000 times
greater.
-
PROTECTION
AGAINST
EXTREMES OF
PRESSURE
PRESSURE IN AEROPLANES
Passenger aircraft often travel at heights of 6000 m or
more. At these heights the pressure of air is less than half
as great as at sea level and the air therefore contains too
little oxygen to support life without acclimatisation.
Aircraft use compressors to keep air pressure in the craft
the same as it isneartheground.Thesecompressors squeeze
the thin air together to keep the cabins pressurised.
SPACE SUITS
At the altitude of a spacecraft in orbit there is practically
noatmospheric pressure, in other words there is nearly a
vacuum. Because of this, astronauts must wear a space
suit which encloses the air they breathe. The suit must
cover their entire body or they would swell and their
blood would boil.
Problems to think about
I. Why does the diver wear very heavy boots?
2. The astronaut is not fat and his clothes are not particularly thick. Why does
he look so fat when walking in space?
3. If an astronaut's space suit is punctured, his blood boils. Why? (Hint:
consider why the pressure cooker works and think of the reverse.)
4. Does it matter whether or not the diving bell touches the sea bed?
5. Why does an air hostess hand round sweets before take-off?
Astronauts on their way to the launch-
ing pad
Walking in space
53
FLOATING
AND
SINKING
On p. to we discussed how the pressure in a liquid in-
creases with depth.
If a block is suspended in a liquid as illustrated the
,
liquid all round the block will exert a pressure on all its
faces. The pressure at the bottom will be greater than it is
at the top. As there is more pressure pushing up than
pushing down, there will be a net force upwards (an up-
thrust, as it is often called).
Archimedes was the first person to realise that the up-
thrust must be equal to the weight of the liquid displaced
(pushed out of place) by the block. This upthrust leads to
apparent loss of weight of the block.
This is best shown using a stone hung from a spring
balance. When hung in air, the spring balance tells us the
weight of the stone. Fill a can to the brim with water and
put the can in an empty bowl. Carefully lower the stone
into the can. The water that is displaced goes over into
the bowl and can be weighed.
The spring balance reads less. There appears to be a
loss in weight, which will be found to equal the weight of
water that overflowed. This is known as Archimedes'
principle.
Problems to think about
I. Why do you think it is easy to keep your legs sticking out horizontally in a
bath of water, but it is a great strain to do it if you let the water run out?
I
54
2. Have you noticed that when you walk over pebbles into the sea, the pebbles
hurt your feet badly at the edge, but the further you get into the water the less
they hurt? Why do you think this is?
3. If a cork is held below the surface ofthe water and released, what happens?
How does the upthrust compare with the weight of the cork?
4. When a cork is floating on the surface of the water and is quite still, what
can you say about the upthrust?
5. When a model ship floats on a pond, what can you say about the
upthrust?
Some things to do at home
I. You will need a fairly heavy glass jug, a large saucepan, a plastic washing
up bowl and some kitchen scales. Weigh the glass jug on the kitchen scales.
Fill the saucepan to the brim with water and put it in the plastic bowl. Float
the jug carefully in the saucepan. Some water will be displaced into the bowl.
Remove the jug. Remove the saucepan. Weigh the water that overflowed into
the bowl. What do you notice? (Hint: to weigh the water that overflowed,
weigh the bowl empty and then with the water in it.)
2. Repeat the first experiment several times, but instead of starting with an
empty jug put objects of differing weights in the jug (for example, a tin of
beans) before weighing it. What do you notice about the depth of floating?
What do you notice about the weight of water overflowing?
55
FLOATING AND
SINKING
Right: Queen Elizabeth 2
- pure water level

FLOATING
We have seen above that when a body is put in a liquid
there is an upthrust and Archimedes suggested that the
upthrust equals the weight of liquid displaced.
If the upthrust is greater than the weight, the body rises
- you experienced that when you held a cork below the
surface and let go. If the upthrust is less than the weight,
the body moves downward; putting an iron block in water
shows this. If the upthrust equals the weight, the body
floats.
Cork is less dense than water: cork weighs less than the
same volume of water. It therefore floats in water. Iron is
more dense than water: iron weighs more than the same
volume of water. Therefore a solid block of iron sinks.
For this reason, many people said at first that it would be
impossible to build ships of iron. Can you explain why an
iron ship floats?
DEPTH OF FLOATING
56
air
mercury
An object, put on a liquid surface, will sink until it has
displaced its own weight of liquid (then the upthrust will
equal the weight). The denser the liquid, the less far it has
to sink.
Use is made of this principle with an instrument called a
hydrometer, which is used for several purposes, such as
testing the purity of milk. The hydrometer does not sink
as far in pure milk as in water. Another common use is in
Below: Empty and loaded
checking a car battery. The tester has a small hydrometer
inside a glass container. When the rubber bulb at the top
is squeezed and let go, the acid is drawn into the glass con-
tainer. The hydrometer floats in the acid. From the depth
at which it floats, the density of the acid can be checked.
When a ship floats, the upthrust equals the weight. If a
load is added so that the ship has extra weight, an extra
upthrust is necessary if it is still to float. It therefore floats
deeper in the water.
If the load becomes too great, the ship is not able to dis-
place enough water to produce enough upthrust - so it
sinks. Special lines, called Plimsoll lines, are marked on
the sides of all ships to show to what depth they can be
loaded with safety.
FLOATING AND
SINKING
FRESH WATER AND SEA WATER
There are two inland seas, the Dead Sea in the Middle
East and the Great Salt Lake in the United States of
America, where the concentration of salt is so great that
bodies float quite high in the water. The photograph
shows a bather floating in the Great Salt Lake, in which it
is impossible to sink. The bather still weighs the same
amount and his volume remains the same. Why does he
float higher? A ship will also float higher in sea water than
it will in fresh water. Why is this?
A person can be made to float more easily in water by
using an inflated ring or a life jacket. These do not add
much to the weight of the bather, but they increase his
volume considerably. The displacement is therefore
greater.
SUBMARINES
A submarine must be able to float on the surface or sink
below it as desired. In the hull of a submarine there are
large buoyancy tanks. When the submarine is to sub-
merge, these tanks are opened to allow water to come in.
The water adds to the total weight of the submarine,
without increasing its volume, and the submarine begins
to sink. When it is to return to the surface, the water is
forced out of the buoyancy tanks by compressed air, the
weight is reduced and the upthrust makes the submarine
nse,
58
THE FLOATING DOCK
The same principle is used in the floating dock. Large
water-tight compartments are filled with water so that the
dock sinks deep enough for the ship to sail in over the top.
Compressed air then blows the water out of the compart-
ments and the ship is raised out of the water.
59
60
MARINE ANIMALS
Most fish are able to remain at a particular depth in the
sea. Many fish have an air sac, called a swim-bladder,
which occupies about 5% of the total body volume. The
air sac can be adjusted so that the upthrust at the depth
at which it usually lives and feeds is exactly equal to its
weight.
FLOATING IN AIR
A balloon full of hydrogen displaces an equal volume of
air. Air is more dense than hydrogen and the upthrust is
greater than the weight of the balloon of hydrogen; there-
fore the balloon rises. Archimedes' principle applies in
gases just as it does in liquids (though the upthrusts are
much smaller since gases are so much less dense than
liquids).
Something to do at home
The obedient diver: take the hollow tapering bottom half of a ball-point pen.
Block the hole at the wider end with a little Plasticine. Add more
Plasticine until the pen just floats in water. Now put it in a milk bottle full
of water. Place a big block of Plasticine on top. (A screw-top squash or
lemonade bottle also works very well.jThe screw top can be used in place of
the Plasticine.) When you press it, the pen sinks; when you release it, the pen
comes up again.
The reason for this is that the air in the pen gets compressed as in experi-
ment 2 on p. 50. The pen thus loses its buoyancy, becomes heavier than water,
and sinks. When the pressure is released the air expands again and the pen
rises. Warning: don't press too hard or the bottle might break.
Problems to think about
I. When a swimmer is lifted from the sea into a rowing boat, he appears to get
heavier as he leaves the water. Why is this?
2. If an egg is placed in a tumbler and water is added, the egg stays on the
bottom. If a large quantity of salt is added to the water and stirred, the egg
floats. Why is this? You can try this for yourself.
3. (Difficult) If you are in a rowing boat on a pond and you throw a large
anchor from the boat into the pond, does the water level in the pond rise, fall
or remain the same?
....

APPENDIX 1
THE
BERNOULLI
EFFECT
There are several aspects of pressure that are really
beyond the scope of this book, but one of them will be
mentioned briefly here.
The pressure in fast-moving gases or liquids is lower
than in slow-moving or stationary ones.
If you hold a piece of paper beneath your mouth, so that
it hangs down, and then blow over the top of it, the paper
moves up because the pressure underneath is higher than
that on top.
Many important things depend on this Bernoulli effect
for their working. The lift of a plane wing, a scent spray,
the carburettor of a car, the air hole in a bunsen burner
and the swinging of a ball in the air when it is spun are just
a few.
'--
rubber bulb
atmospheric pressure
Scent spray
Problem to think about
If two ships sail very close side by side they tend to drift together and collide.
Why'?
Something to do at home
Get a ball-point pen tube, point the narrow end upward, blow hard through it
and put a table-tennis ball in the jet. Can you explain what happens'?
APPENDIX 2
SOME FACTS
ABOUT
PRESSURE
62
force
I. Pressure = --
area
The international (SI) unit of force is I newton and
pressure is measured in newtons per square metre
(Njm
1
) .
The kilogramme force is, however, a useful practical
unit of force and the corresponding pressure units are
kilogrammes force per square centimetre (kgf/cm-). (On
earth I kgf is approximately 98 N.)
In Great Britain it is still common for many pressures
(e.g. motor-car tyres) to be measured in pounds force per
square inch (Ibf/in").
2. An unbalanced pressure on a body will cause it to
move.
3. Any pressure will cause a body to deform, in other
words to change its size and shape, and in some cases
possibly to break. This applies in particular to:
(a) Solids - which will break or flow if the pressure
exceeds a critical value (hence the stiletto-heel effect) and
will go on breaking down until the pressure falls below
the critical value.
(b) Liquids - which will not change their volume and
which will change their shape only if their container
changes shape or if they are not fully contained by a
solid.
(c) Gases - which will be compressed by pressure until
their internal pressure matches the applied pressure.
4. An unbalanced pressure will tend to squeeze matter
(gaseous, liquid or solid) through an opening. This is
really a combination of effects 2 and 3 above.
5. Fluids (liquids and gases) always flow from regions of
high pressure to regions of low pressure if they are con-
nected together. The rate of flow depends on the differ-
ence in pressure and on how easy it is to get from one to
the other (for example, thickness of tube, etc.).
6. A device that controls the flow of a fluid through it is
called a valve. If the valve allows the fluid to flow in only
one direction, it is called a non-return valve.
I APPENDIX 2
7. The pressure caused by a liquid depends only on the
depth and density of that liquid.
If h is the depth of the liquid . _./.,,',
p is the density of the liquid ... '
g is the strength of the gravitational field
then
P. hpg,
8. Liquids are (almost) incompressible.
9. The mechanical advantage of a hydraulic press - that
is, the load that can be lifted over the force needed to lift
it - is given by
mechanical advantage = .' .
area of liquid surface lifting the load
area of liquid surface being pressed by die force;' ,.
10. The normal pressure of the atmosphere at sea level is
about 1 kgf'/cm- (lO"Njm
2
) , or the equivalent of a column
of mercury 76 em high.
11. An instrument for measuring the pressure of the
atmosphere is called a barometer.
12. A perfect vacuum is a space containing no solid,
liquid or gas, and thus exerts no pressure.
A space containing gas at a lower pressure than the
atmosphere around it is called a partial vacuum.
63