Physics 106 Lesson #7

Pressure and Fluid Flow:

Pascal and Bernoulli

Dr. Andrew Tomasch

2405 Randall Lab
atomasch@umich.edu
Review: Density
• Density  (Greek letter rho):

 mass
volume
The mass of uniform
object is its density
times its volume: m = V

water = 1000 kg/m3 (SI)

water = 1 g/cm3 (CGS)

The specific gravity is density expressed

in units of the density of water. The
specific gravity of x ≡ x /water
Review: Buoyancy
• The upward buoyant
force helps to balance F
B
the downward weight, T +
reducing the tension in
the string, which is the
apparent weight of the
block → apparent W
weight is less than the
true weight
Review: Archimedes’ Principle

FB  (  fluidVobject ) g
Magnitude of Weight of
Buoyant Force Displaced Fluid

•The buoyant force acting on

a body is equal to the weight
of the fluid it displaces
Review: Archimedes’ Principle Applied
• An object sinks if ρobject > ρfluid
• An object floats if ρobject < ρfluid FB

• An object is neutrally buoyant ρobject

if ρobject = ρfluid Vobject

ρfluid

W
Completely immerse an
object of volume Vobject
with density ρobject in a
fluid of density ρfluid
Review: Floating Objects
• An object floats with some portion of
its volume protruding from the liquid
• When Floating in Equilibrium:

Vin object FB

Vobject liquid Vin
W
Review: Surface Tension
• Water molecules have an uneven
distribution of electrical charge,
slightly positive at one end, slightly
negative at the other.
• The molecules on the water’s surface Demo: soap
stick together because of electrical powered boat
forces and behave like a membrane.
• Small objects more dense than water
can be supported on the water’s
surface.
• Soaps and detergents disrupt this
surface tension.
Introduction to Fluids
• Atoms in fluids can change relative positions easily,
unlike those in solids
• Push on a fluid and it will move in any direction to
release the pressure, not just away from you
• Fluids have a definite volume but no definite shape
Pressure
Pressure is a scalar. Area is a vector. The direction of
an element of area is perpendicular to the surface.

• Pressure P is the force perpendicular to a

surface divided by the area of the surface:

P force
area  F
A  F  PA
A difference in
pressure across a
surface or object Units of pressure: N/m2 ≡ Pascals (Pa)
exerts a net force (also mm or inches of mercury and lbs/in2)
perpendicular to
the surface.
How Fluids Exert Pressure
• Due to their thermal motion, molecules
are continuously bombarding the walls of
a container even when there is no bulk
movement of the air (wind): container

p
• Force = for collisions
t
• Molecules colliding with
with the container walls
produce a pressure
(force/area) air molecule
Fluids: Not Just Liquids
• We are talking about fluids, not just liquids
– air is a fluid
– fluids like air (a gas) and water (a liquid) differ
primarily in the separation between atoms
– in liquids, the atoms are not as far apart as in
gasses, making them difficult to compress

Fluids Include
Liquids &
Gases
incompressible compressible
fluids fluids
 Atmospheric Pressure
•The weight of the overlying air produces an atmospheric
pressure at any depth in the Earth’s atmosphere
At sea level atmospheric pressure is:
Patm = 1.013 x 105 Pa ≡ 1 atm
gravity
atmosphere 1 Pa  1 N/m 2

1 atm  1.013  105 Pa

ground 1 mm Hg  133 Pa
Demo: Magdeburg Sphere

Equivalent to the weight of a 10,000 kg (22 ton)

mass distributed over 1 square meter (!)
Hydrostatic Pressure
Water is incompressible 
• Hydrostatic Pressure mH2O  H2O (volume)
– for a fluid at rest the hydrostatic pressure at a depth h
is the weight of the fluid above an area A divided by
the area A
– the total pressure at depth h is the hydrostatic
pressure plus the atmospheric pressure Patm at the
top of the fluid:
Patm
WH2O  mH O g  (  H O )( Ah) g
2 2
volume
WH O
h
 PH2O  2
  H O gh
A 2

Area = A Ptotal  Patm   H O gh

2
AKA Pascal’s Law
Pascal’s Principle
• We have just seen that the pressure at a
depth h in a fluid is the sum of
atmospheric pressure applied above the
fluid and the hydrostatic pressure:

Ptotal  Patm   H O gh Pascal

2

• This is an example of Pascal’s Principle:

“Any change in the pressure applied to a

completely enclosed fluid is transmitted
undiminished to all parts of the fluid and
vessel walls”

• Atmospheric pressure is transmitted

throughout the fluid and to the vessel
walls by Pascal’s Principle
Pascal’s Law Caution
Quiz
Ahead

• At a depth h below the surface

of an incompressible fluid:

Pabsolute  Patm  fluid gh

Pascal
Gauge Pressure
≡ Difference From
Atmospheric

The pressure in a static fluid

is the same at all points that
have the same depth
regardless of the container’s
Demonstration shape: PA= PB= PC= PD
 This is a mercury barometer
Concept Test #1
A static fluid in a container is
subject to both atmospheric
pressure at its surface and
The pressure at the
Earth’s gravitation. The
bottom of the mercury pressure at A:
column (A) is the density
of mercury x g x h and is A. Depends on the cross
the same as at the top of
the mercury (B) which is
sectional area of the
at atmospheric pressure container
and at the same height.
B. Depends on the shape of
the container
C. Is equal to atmospheric
pressure

PA  0   gh PB  Patm
760 mm Hg = 1 Atm
PA  PB   gh  Patm
Water has 1/13 the density of
mercury, so a water barometer is = 29.92 inches Hg
13 times taller or 32 feet tall!
Practical Hydrostatics
• Why do your ears hurt when dive into deep
water?
If you dive to the bottom of the deep end of a
pool, 3 m or so, you’ll feel uncomfortable
pressure in your ears. This depth corresponds to
a gauge pressure of (1000 kg/m3)(9.8 m/s2)(3 m) =
2.9 x 104 Pa, about a 30% increase over
atmospheric pressure. This pressure increase is
enough to compress gas inside your eardrum so
that is bends inward in a painful way.
Practical Hydrostatics
• Why are snorkels always so short?
Ever wondered by no one markets 10 ft snorkels?
When you are swimming at a depth h, the pressure
outside you in the water is Patm+  gh. Inside your
lungs, which are directly connected to the air by the
snorkel, the pressure is Patm. So your lungs have to
breathe against a gauge pressure of  gh. You can
expand your chest against a pressure only a small
fraction above atmospheric pressure. At a depth of
3 m you would injure your lungs. At a depth of 10 m
your lungs would implode as the outside water
pressure crushed your chest. This is why scuba
divers breathe carefully regulated pressurized gas.
Practical Hydrostatics
• How does a straw work?
Do you really suck a drink up into a straw?
Actually, you remove the air from inside
the straw thereby lowering the pressure
inside to something close to zero.
Atmospheric pressure at the surface of the
drink acts unopposed to push the drink up
into the straw.
Applied Hydrostatics:
The Hydraulic Lift
• Pascal’s Principle: the pressure
induced by pushing down on a
A2
fluid is transmitted equally
throughout the fluid A B
• This fact is the basis for many
useful devices including the
hydraulic brakes in your car and
F1 F2
the hydraulic jack shown here PA  PB  
• A small force applied to the small A1 A2
area A1 generates a pressure that
in turn can apply a large force on A2
a large area A2  F2  F1
A1
Continuity in Fluid Flow
• Mass flowing in = mass
flowing out per unit time
• For an incompressible
fluid mass is equivalent to
volume because density is
constant What Flows In Must Flow Out

A1v1  A2v2 Units: m3/s

(volume in)/time = (volume out)/time
Conservation of Mass:
The Equation of Continuity

Caution
Quiz
Ahead

(mass in) / time Incompressible Fluid 1  2

1 A1v1  2 A2v2 A1v1  A2v2

(mass out) / time
The product of the cross-
sectional area and flow speed
is everywhere the same.
Concept Test #2
A river is 10 m wide and 2 m deep at a
certain point where the speed of the
flow is 2 m/s. A little later on, it’s 15 m
wide and 1 m deep. What is the speed
of the flow there?
A. 2.67 m/s
B. 1.34 m/s
 A1v1  A2v2
C. 6.33 m/s A1v1 (10 m  2 m)  2 m/s
 v2  
D. 4.25 m/s A2 (15 m 1 m)
 v2  2.67 m/s
Conservation of Energy:
Bernoulli's Equation
• Work-Energy
Theorem for a KEi  PEi  Wnc  KEf  PEf
drop of fluid: nc ≡ nonconservative
Dividing
through by the
Gravitational Potential
volume of the nc work/volume Energy per Volume
drop replaces
1 2 1 2
 v1   gh1  ( P1  P2 )   v2   gh2
the mass of
the drop with
the density of
the fluid. 2 2
Kinetic Energy per Volume

Bernoulli’s Equation
Bernoulli’s equation is the statement of energy conservation in a moving fluid
and is shown here for background only. Note that to apply a force to the fluid
(and do nonconservative work) requires a pressure difference across the pipe
Bernoulli’s Equation: A Surprising Result

• Flow in a horizontal pipe:

A1v1  A2v2 v1  v2 P1  P2
Continuity Bernoulli

As the speed of a fluid increases over

Demos: Bernoulli Effects a surface, the pressure of the fluid
and Venturi Tube
against the surface decreases.
Example: A Damaged Heart
Bernoulli’s equation dictates
that as the speed of the flowing
blood increases through a
narrowed area of the vessel to
satisfy continuity, the pressure
on the inside of the vessel wall
decreases, resulting in a
tendency to collapse the vessel
wall.
Example: Bernoulli in the Shower

• The Shower-Curtain Effect: The shower

curtain sometimes gets sucked in
towards the shower when the water flows
• The moving water induces moving
currents of air on the shower side of the
curtain, which lowers the air pressure
slightly on that side
Example: A Leak
• Suppose a tank open to the air
has a leak a distance h below Patm
the surface. Point 1: v1 ≈ 0

• Q: How does the speed v2 of

the exiting water compare with h
that of a ball dropped from a
height h ? Point 2
• A: It is exactly the same. An PE=0 Here Patm v2
exiting drop of water carries
away the gravitational potential
energy lost from the top of the
water as kinetic energy. From
a work-energy standpoint,
each exiting drop has simply
fallen a distance h under the
influence of gravity!
 More Examples

If an airplane flies too

slowly and/or at too high an
angle of attack, turbulent
flow occurs over the top
of the wing and the wing stalls
resulting in a loss of lift and a Most of the lift a wing produces
actually comes from deflecting
large increase in drag the momentum of the moving air.