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CHAPTER 14: FLUID MECHANICS

Matter can be classified as solid, liquid, or gas. Both liquids and gases are also grouped together
as fluids. In fluid mechanics, we shall first study stationary fluids then we shall consider fluids in
motion

Pressure
The force exerted by a stationary fluid on an object is always perpendicular to point on the surface
of the object. For an object at any depth in a fluid, if 𝐹 is the magnitude of the net force pushing
onto the whole surface area of the object, the pressure 𝑃 of the fluid is defined as
𝑭
𝑷=
𝑨
Pressure is a scalar quantity since this relationship deals with the force’s magnitude, not direction
The units of pressure are N m-2 = pascal (Pa). From the equation above, when a woman wearing
high heels accidentally stomps on you, you will feel more pain than if she was wearing takkies.
This is because the area under the heel is smaller than the area under the takkie (More area, less
pressure).

E.g. A large man sits on a four-legged chair with his feet off the floor. The combined mass
of the man and chair is 95.0 kg. If the chair legs are cylinders having a radius of 0.500 cm
underneath, what pressure does each leg exert on the floor?

Solution

𝑭
𝑷=
𝑨
(𝟗𝟓 × 𝟗. 𝟖)/𝟒
𝑷= = 𝟐. 𝟗𝟔 × 𝟏𝟎𝟔 𝑷𝒂 = 𝟐. 𝟗𝟔 𝑴𝑷𝒂
𝝅(𝟎. 𝟓 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟐 )𝟐

Variation of Pressure with Depth

Fluid pressure increases with depth. E.g. The deeper you go in an ocean, the higher the pressure
exerted on you by the water. E.g. Because atmospheric pressure decreases with increasing altitude,
aeroplanes have pressurized cabins (high pressure cabins). This provides a comfortable pressure
for the passengers compared to the low pressure outside the plane.

Consider a liquid in a container. The pressure at the surface of the liquid is atmospheric pressure,
𝑃𝑎𝑡𝑚 . At any depth ℎ below the surface of the liquid, the pressure is
𝑷 = 𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒎 + 𝝆𝒈𝒉
where 𝜌𝑔ℎ is the added pressure due to the liquid of depth ℎ. Here, 𝜌 is the density which is
defined as its mass per unit volume. The above equation means that the total pressure 𝑃 at any
depth ℎ has two contributions, one from the atmosphere (= 𝑃𝑎𝑡𝑚 ) and the other from the liquid
(= 𝜌𝑔ℎ). For our problems, we will usually use standard atmospheric pressure for 𝑃𝑎𝑡𝑚 which is
1.013 × 105 Pa.
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E.g. Estimate the extra force exerted on your eardrum by the water when you are swimming
at the bottom of a pool that is 5.0 m deep. The surface area of your eardrum is of the order
of 1 cm-2.

Solution

The air inside the middle ear (outside the ear drum) is normally at atmospheric pressure:
𝑷𝒎𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒍𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒓 = 𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒎
When you are 5 m below the water surface:
𝑷𝒎𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒍𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒓 = 𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒎 + 𝝆𝒈𝒉
The extra pressure caused by the water is therefore
𝑷𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒓𝒂 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒍𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒓 = 𝝆𝒈𝒉 = (𝟏 𝟎𝟎𝟎)(𝟗. 𝟖)(𝟓) = 𝟒𝟗 𝒌𝑷𝒂
This corresponds to an extra force of
𝑭 = 𝑷𝑨 = (𝟒𝟗 × 𝟏𝟎𝟑 )(𝟏𝟎−𝟒 ) = 𝟒. 𝟗 𝑵 ≈ 𝟓 𝑵

The pressure is the same at all points having the same depth, regardless of the shape of the
container holding the fluid. The pressure is the same along each of the two dotted lines in the
diagram below. The pressure is atmospheric pressure (𝑃𝑎𝑡𝑚 ) everywhere along the top dotted line.

Any increase in pressure at one point of a fluid will be transmitted to every other point in the fluid.
For example, if atmospheric pressure was to increase by 900 Pa, the pressure at every point inside
the liquid in the above diagram will increase by 900 Pa. This idea is expressed in Pascal’s
principle:

PASCAL’S LAW
A change in the pressure in an enclosed fluid is transmitted undiminished to every other
point of the fluid and to the walls of the container.
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An important application of Pascal’s law is the hydraulic jack illustrated in the diagram below.

A force of magnitude 𝐹1 is applied to a small piston of surface area 𝐴1 . The pressure is transmitted
through an incompressible liquid to a larger piston of surface area 𝐴2 . Because the pressure change
∆𝑃 must be the same on both sides,
∆𝑃 = ∆𝑃1 = ∆𝑃2
𝑭𝟏 𝑭𝟐
=
𝑨𝟏 𝑨𝟐
Since 𝐴2 is greater than 𝐴1 , it means that 𝐹2 > 𝐹1 . A small force at the smaller piston supports a
larger weight at the bigger piston.

Pressure-measuring Instruments: The Barometer and the Manometer

The Barometer:
This is used to measure atmospheric pressure and is illustrated in diagram below. A long tube is
filled with mercury. The top closed end of the tube is nearly a vacuum so that the pressure at the
top of the mercury column is approximately zero. Over a short period of time, the mercury in the
tube is stationary so that
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𝑃𝐴 = 𝑃𝐵 = 𝑃𝑎𝑡𝑚
𝑃𝑎𝑡𝑚 = 𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑝 + 𝜌𝐻𝑔 𝑔ℎ
𝑃𝑎𝑡𝑚 = 0 + 𝜌𝐻𝑔 𝑔ℎ
𝑃𝑎𝑡𝑚 = 𝜌𝐻𝑔 𝑔ℎ
Therefore, the height of mercury ℎ is directly proportional to the atmospheric pressure. When the
atmospheric pressure rises, the height ℎ will also increase.
WARNING! Be careful not to use the density in g cm-3 in such a calculation!

But why mercury? Consider a day when the atmosphere’s pressure is ‘standard atmospheric
pressure’ (= 1.013 × 105 Pa). A mercury barometer would have a column of height 76 cm. If,
for example, water was used instead of mercury, we would have
𝑃𝑎𝑡𝑚 = 𝜌𝐻2 0 𝑔ℎ
1.013 × 105 𝑃𝑎 = (1 000 𝑘𝑔 𝑚−3 )(9.8 𝑁 𝑘𝑔−1 )ℎ
1.013 × 105 𝑁 𝑚−2
ℎ= = 10.3 𝑚 𝐻2 𝑂
(1 000 𝑘𝑔 𝑚−3 )(9.8 𝑁 𝑘𝑔−1 )
RIDICULOUS! No-one carries around such a long instrument. This length is not practical!

In fact, there are two reasons for choosing mercury for the barometer:
1. It has a high density which allows for a reasonable length of the barometer tube.
2. It has a low vapour pressure so that the pressure above the top of the mercury column
nearer to zero than water. This means that the vapour pressure above the mercury column
does not affect the barometer reading as much as water would.

Manometer:
The manometer is mostly used to measure the pressure of a gas enclosed in a container. It is a U-
shaped tube containing a liquid of density 𝜌𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑜 as shown in diagram (b) below.

In the measurement above, the pressure exerted on the left is more since the liquid has been pushed
more towards the right arm. The extra height ℎ on the right is therefore caused by the gas pressure.
The gas exerts atmospheric pressure 𝑃𝑎𝑡𝑚 plus the extra height pressure 𝜌𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑜 𝑔ℎ, therefore
𝑃𝑔𝑎𝑠 = 𝑃𝑎𝑡𝑚 + 𝜌𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑜 𝑔ℎ
𝑃𝑔𝑎𝑠 is known as the absolute pressure of the gas.
𝜌𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑜 𝑔ℎ is known as the gauge pressure (𝑃𝑔𝑎𝑢𝑔𝑒 )
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When you measure the pressure in your car or bicycle tyre at a service station, what you measure
is gauge pressure. When the gas pressure in a container is lower than atmospheric pressure, the
manometer liquid will be higher in the left arm as depicted in the diagram below.

In this case,
𝑃𝑔𝑎𝑠 = 𝑃𝑎𝑡𝑚 − 𝜌𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑜 𝑔ℎ Absolute gas pressure
𝑃𝑔𝑎𝑢𝑔𝑒 = −𝜌𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑜 𝑔ℎ Notice that the gauge pressure is now negative.

Units of Pressure
• Pascals (Pa)
• mmHg 760 mmHg = 1.013 × 105 Pa (standard atmospheric pressure)
• atm 1 atm = 1.013 × 105 Pa
• millibar 1 mbar = 100 Pa = 1 hPa

Archimedes’ Principle

ARCHIMEDES’ PRINCIPLE
If a body is totally or partially immersed in a fluid, it will appear to lose some weight. This
apparent weight lost is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the body and the buoyant
force on the object

The make-belief weight loss is caused by an upward lifting force exerted by the fluid (the buoyant
⃗ ) as demonstrated in the diagram below.
force 𝐵
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So,
𝑊𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠 = 𝑊𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑖𝑟 − 𝑊𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑
= 𝑊𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑 = 𝐵 from Archimedes’ principle
= (𝑀𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑 )𝑔 from 𝐹𝑔 = 𝑚𝑔
= 𝜌𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑔𝑉𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑 from 𝜌 = 𝑚/𝑉

For a totally submerged body,

𝑉𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 = 𝑉𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑
so that
𝑊𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠 = 𝜌𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑔𝑉𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑 = 𝜌𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑔𝑉𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦

E.g. A lead block, RD 11.3, weighs 1.96 N in air, calculate

(a) the volume of the block
(b) the weight loss in water
(c) the buoyant force in alcohol (RD = 0.8)
(d) the density of the liquid in which it weighs 1.5 N

Solution
(a)
𝑾𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒊𝒓 = 𝑴𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒈 = 𝝆𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝑽𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒈
Remember to use the density in kg m-3 for the weight to come out in newtons.
𝟏. 𝟗𝟔 = 𝟏𝟏 𝟑𝟎𝟎 × 𝑽𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 × 𝟗. 𝟖
𝟏. 𝟗𝟔
𝑽𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 = = 𝟏. 𝟕𝟕 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟓 𝒎−𝟑
𝟏𝟏 𝟑𝟎𝟎 × 𝟗. 𝟖

(b)
𝑾𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒔 = 𝝆𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒊𝒅 𝒈𝑽𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒊𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅 = 𝝆𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒊𝒅 𝒈𝑽𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 = (𝟏 𝟎𝟎𝟎)(𝟗. 𝟖)(𝟏. 𝟕𝟕 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟓 )
= 𝟎. 𝟏𝟕 N

(c)
The fluid has changed. The buoyant force in alcohol is different from that in water
𝑩 = 𝝆𝒂𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒉𝒐𝒍 𝒈𝑽𝒂𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒉𝒐𝒍 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅 = 𝝆𝒂𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒉𝒐𝒍 𝒈𝑽𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚
𝑩 = (𝟖𝟎𝟎)(𝟗. 𝟖)(𝟏. 𝟕𝟕 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟓 ) = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟒 N

(d)
The weight loss in this mystery liquid is
𝑾𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒅 = 𝑾𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒊𝒓 − 𝑾𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒅
= 𝟏. 𝟗𝟔 − 𝟏. 𝟓
= 𝟎. 𝟒𝟔 N
𝑾𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒅 = 𝝆𝒍𝒊𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒅 𝒈𝑽𝒍𝒊𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅 == 𝝆𝒍𝒊𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒅 𝒈𝑽𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚
𝟎. 𝟒𝟔 = 𝝆𝒍𝒊𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒅 (𝟗. 𝟖)(𝟏. 𝟕𝟕 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟓 )
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𝟎. 𝟒𝟔
𝝆𝒍𝒊𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒅 = = 𝟐. 𝟔𝟓 × 𝟏𝟎𝟑 𝒌𝒈 𝒎−𝟑
(𝟗. 𝟖)(𝟏. 𝟕𝟕 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟓 )

For floating objects, only part of the body sinks because it quickly loses all of its weight before it
is fully submerged. The body ends up only partially immersed.
From Archimedes’ principle,
𝑊𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠 = 𝑊𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑 = 𝐵 from Archimedes’ principle
= 𝜌𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑔𝑉𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑 from 𝜌 = 𝑚/𝑉
= 𝑊𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑖𝑟 The body displaces fluid of weight equal to all its weight
and stops sinking any further.

WARNING! For a totally submerged body,

𝑉𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 ≠ 𝑉𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑
Part of the body’s volume does not displace any fluid because it is outside the fluid.

E.g. A block of wood weighs 10 N in air. If the block floats in water, calculate
(a) its weight in water
(b) the volume of the water it displaces
(c) the weight of the water it displaces

Solution
(a)
𝑾𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 = 𝟎 N

(b)
𝑾𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒔 = 𝑾𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒊𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅 = 𝑾𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒊𝒓
𝝆𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒊𝒅 𝒈𝑽𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒊𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅 = 𝑾𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒊𝒓
𝟏 𝟎𝟎𝟎 × 𝟗. 𝟖 × 𝑽𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅 = 𝟏𝟎
𝟏𝟎
𝑽𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅 = = 𝟏. 𝟎𝟐 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟑 𝒎𝟑
𝟏 𝟎𝟎𝟎 × 𝟗. 𝟖
Note
𝑽𝒘𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒌 ≠ 𝑽𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅
In fact, 𝑽𝒘𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒌 > 𝑽𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅 because only part of the wooden block displaces some
water.

(c)
𝑾𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅 = 𝑾𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒊𝒓 = 𝟏𝟎 N

For a floating body,

𝑊𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑖𝑟 = 𝑊𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑
𝜌𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑉𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑔 = 𝜌𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑔𝑉𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑
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𝑉𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝜌𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦

=
𝑉𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝜌𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑
But the fraction on the left represents the fraction of the body that is underwater therefore
𝝆
fraction underwater = 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚⁄𝝆𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒊𝒅

E.g. Ships are made of steel which is denser than water but they float. Explain why?

Explanation
They are hollow inside. The ship is hollow. It is designed so that made the lower part of the
ship can displace a large volume of water before the whole ship is submerged. This allows
more of the ship to be above water.

Types of Fluid Flow

We now discuss fluids that are in motion. When fluid is moving, its flow can be characterized as
being one of two main types:
• Steady (regular, streamline or laminar) flow – Each particle of the fluid follows its own
smooth path so that the paths of different particles never cross each other as shown in
diagram (a) below. Each path is called a streamline. In steady flow, every particle passes
the same point with the same velocity.
• Unsteady (irregular or turbulent) – If the speed of the fluid rises beyond a certain critical
speed, fluid flow becomes turbulent. The fluid flow is now characterized by small
disorderly regions as seen after the object in diagram (b) below. The velocity of a particle
passing through any point is no longer easily predictable.

Viscosity
Just like solids have friction, there is internal friction between the layers in a fluid. Viscosity is
the term commonly used to describe the amount of internal friction in a fluid. If there is more drag
between the layers of a fluid, that fluid is said to be highly viscous e.g. grease and honey. Water
is much less viscous than these two liquids. Similar to friction between solid surfaces, friction
causes energy to be converted into internal energy which may be seen as an increase in the fluid
temperature.
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Ideal Fluid Flow

To simplify the mathematics of fluid dynamics a whole lot, we shall assume that our fluid has ideal
fluid flow. A fluid is said to be flowing in an ideal manner if
• It is non-viscous – The internal friction is negligible.
• It flows steadily - All the fluid’s particles passing through a point do so in an orderly
manner and pass similar points with repeatedly similar velocities (no turbulence)
• The fluid is incompressible – The density of the fluid is constant throughout the flow.
The fluid cannot be squeezed or spread out so that its density changes even if its path
widens or narrows.
• The flow is irrotational - The fluid particles are sliding along their path without spinning
so that there is no net angular momentum for the momentum for the fluid at any point.

Equation of Continuity
Now, suppose we have an ideal fluid flow in a channel as illustrated in the diagram below. The
fluid has a density of 𝜌. Consider a portion of guided flowing fluid as shown in diagram (a) at
time 𝑡 = 0. During a time interval ∆𝑡, some fluid will enter the channel (shaded blue) at a speed
𝑣1 where the cross-sectional area is 𝐴1 (= Point 1). During the same time interval ∆𝑡, some fluid
will also leave the channel at the exit end (also shaded blue) at a speed 𝑣2 where the cross-sectional
area is 𝐴2 (= Point 2). Because the fluid is incompressible and not turbulent,
(𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒)𝑃𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 1 = (𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒)𝑃𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 2
𝑄1 = 𝑄2
𝐴1 𝑣1 = 𝐴2 𝑣2
𝑨𝒗 = constant

The above equation is called the equation of continuity for flowing fluids. The volume flow rate
𝐴1 𝑣1 or 𝐴2 𝑣2 has dimensions m3 s-1. The equation of continuity therefore states that for ideal fluid
flow, the volume flow rate is the same at every point of the fluid’s flow. Following from this, the
volume of fluid that enters one end of a channel in a given time interval equals the volume leaving
the other end of the channel in the same time interval if no fluid leaks.
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• If 𝐴2 > 𝐴1 → 𝑣2 < 𝑣1
• If 𝐴2 < 𝐴1 → 𝑣2 > 𝑣1
Many of you have applied the equation of continuity while watering with a hose pipe with your
thumb covering part of the end of the hose pipe. Your thumb reduces the cross-sectional area for
the water flow therefore the water increases its speed. This is the same equation that explains why
water flows out quickly through the sprinkler or shower head.

E.g. An ideal incompressible fluid of density 990 kg m–3 flows through a pipe of circular
cross-section of diameter 2.4 cm. In order to measure the speed v of the fluid at point A in
the pipe, one section of the pipe is made narrower as illustrated in the diagram below.

The narrow section has a diameter of 0.80 cm and the speed of the fluid in this section is vN.
The flow of fluid is streamline in both sections. Show that the ratio v N / v of the two speeds
is 9.

Solution
𝑨𝟏 𝒗𝟏 = 𝑨𝟐 𝒗𝟐
𝑨𝒗 = 𝑨𝑵 𝒗𝑵
𝒗𝑵 𝑨 𝝅(𝟏. 𝟐 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟐 )𝟐
= = =𝟗
𝒗 𝑨𝑵 𝝅(𝟎. 𝟒 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟐 )𝟐

Bernoulli’s Equation
In a fluid flow channel, the pressure also changes. Bernoulli’s equation accounts for potential
pressure changes in the fluid flow. Consider our fluid flow from the previous discussion.

In the diagram below, we have added the heights of points 1 and 2 above a reference point (which
could be height the ground). According to Bernoulli’s equation,
1 1
𝑃1 + 𝜌𝑣1 2 + 𝜌𝑔𝑦1 = 𝑃2 + 𝜌𝑣2 2 + 𝜌𝑔𝑦2
2 2
This equation can be rewritten as
𝟏
𝑷 + 𝝆𝒗𝟐 + 𝝆𝒈𝒚 = 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕
𝟐
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For a horizontal fluid flow channel, Bernoulli’s equation becomes

1 1
𝑃1 + 𝜌𝑣1 2 = 𝑃2 + 𝜌𝑣2 2
2 2
• If fluid speed becomes smaller → fluid pressure will increase
• If fluid speed becomes greater → fluid pressure will decrease
For a fluid flow channel with a uniform cross-sectional area but changing heights, we have
𝑃1 + 𝜌𝑔𝑦1 = 𝑃2 + 𝜌𝑔𝑦2
• Flow through a lower height → increased fluid pressure
• Flow through a greater height → decreased fluid pressure
This last point explains why poorly built tall buildings have upper floor taps that issue weak water
pressure unlike the bottom floor taps that will be supplying water at higher pressure (proper water
booster pumps are required). The Bernoulli effect also explains why you may feel as if you are
being pulled in towards a fast-passing truck. When the truck is passing you, the narrow air channel
between you is slow (high speed, low air pressure). The air behind you has low speed (high
pressure). As a result, you are pushed from high to low pressure which is towards the truck.

The Venturi meter (Venturi tube)

This is an instrument that applies Bernoulli’s equation to measure the rate of flow of an
incompressible fluid of density 𝜌 as demonstrated in the two exactly equivalent the diagrams (a)
and (b) below. The volume flow rate is
𝑄 = 𝑄1 = 𝑄2
𝟐(𝑷𝟏 − 𝑷𝟐 ) 𝟐𝝆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒐 𝒈𝒉
𝑸 = 𝑨𝟏 𝑨𝟐 √ = 𝑨𝟏 𝑨𝟐 √
𝝆(𝑨𝟏 𝟐 − 𝑨𝟐 𝟐 ) 𝝆(𝑨𝟏 𝟐 − 𝑨𝟐 𝟐 )
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Torricelli’s Theorem
The diagram below shows a very large tank from which water is emerging through a small pipe
near the bottom. The speed with which the liquid leaves the pipe at the bottom is called the speed
of efflux (or speed of outflow), 𝑣. For ideal fluid flow and if 𝐴2 ≫ 𝐴1 as is true in a large tank,
the liquid moves down extremely slowly at the top of the tank and according to Torricelli’s
theorem,
𝒗𝟏 = √𝟐𝒈𝒉
Now, consider a totally different scenario. Consider an object falling freely under gravity from a
height ℎ. The velocity of the body after falling through a height ℎ is
𝑣𝑓 2 = 𝑣𝑖 2 + 2𝑎(∆𝑦)
𝑣𝑓 2 = 02 + 2(−𝑔)(−ℎ)
𝑣𝑓 = √2𝑔ℎ
Notice that this is exactly the same velocity we obtained for a liquid coming out of the pipe at a
depth ℎ of a liquid inside the open large tank. This similarity is famously expressed in Torricelli’s
theorem as

Torricelli’s Theorem
In a container filled with liquid and open to the atmosphere, the speed of efflux, 𝒗, with which
a fluid comes out of a sharp-edged hole at a depth 𝒉 below the surface is the same as the
speed that a body would acquire after falling freely from a height of h.
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Fluid flowing out of a deeper orifice (greater ℎ) flows faster and farther.