We all kind of know why water does that wonderful thing in thin tubes. We can all remember the, rather naf looking, science teacher trying to make this work without looking worried about having forgotten something. Ours always did but I digress.
When water climbs up the tube, it stops somewhere depending on tube diameter and tube material. If I have forgotten something important here just let me know, I doubt if it does anything to my real question.
When the tube is not long enough, i.e. the water would have gone up higher but the tube runs out, what does the water do then and why?
Why does it not leak over the edge and "keep running"?
This is important since if it kept running, it would mean we have found a perpetual motion device but we all know that cannot be true so what is going on at the end of the tube?
Second part is then as a result of the first question. What if we bend the tube over into a downward pointed spout but taking into account the total length of the tube so that it is not longer than the length of tube the water would have climbed if it were let to do so freely. Would it now run out the end and thus forming a constant stream of drops?
WHY NOT? it infuriates me not to be able to come up with what is basically a simple physics problem.
Comments rated to be "almost" Good Answers: