Torricelli’s Theorem
Torricelli’s Theorem
The figure below shows water gushing from a large tube through a dam. What is its speed as it emerges? Interestingly, if resistance is negligible, the speed is just what it would be if the water fell a distance \(h\) from the surface of the reservoir; the water’s speed is independent of the size of the opening. Let us check this out. Bernoulli’s equation must be used since the depth is not constant. We consider water flowing from the surface (point 1) to the tube’s outlet (point 2). Bernoulli’s equation as stated in previously is
\({P}_{1}+\cfrac{1}{2}{\mathrm{\rho v}}_{1}^{2}+\rho {\text{gh}}_{1}={P}_{2}+\cfrac{1}{2}{\mathrm{\rho v}}_{2}^{2}+\rho {\text{gh}}_{2}\text{.}\)
Both \({P}_{1}\) and \({P}_{2}\) equal atmospheric pressure (\({P}_{1}\) is atmospheric pressure because it is the pressure at the top of the reservoir. \({P}_{2}\) must be atmospheric pressure, since the emerging water is surrounded by the atmosphere and cannot have a pressure different from atmospheric pressure.) and subtract out of the equation, leaving
\(\cfrac{1}{2}{\mathrm{\rho v}}_{1}^{2}+\rho {\text{gh}}_{1}=\cfrac{1}{2}{\mathrm{\rho v}}_{2}^{2}+\rho {\text{gh}}_{2}\text{.}\)
Solving this equation for \({v}_{2}^{2}\), noting that the density \(\rho \) cancels (because the fluid is incompressible), yields
\({v}_{2}^{2}={v}_{1}^{2}+2g({h}_{1}-{h}_{2})\text{.}\)
We let \(h={h}_{1}-{h}_{2}\); the equation then becomes
\({v}_{2}^{2}={v}_{1}^{2}+2\text{gh}\)
where \(h\) is the height dropped by the water. This is simply a kinematic equation for any object falling a distance \(h\) with negligible resistance. In fluids, this last equation is called Torricelli’s theorem. Note that the result is independent of the velocity’s direction, just as we found when applying conservation of energy to falling objects.
(a) Water gushes from the base of the Studen Kladenetz dam in Bulgaria. (credit: Kiril Kapustin; http://www.ImagesFromBulgaria.com) (b) In the absence of significant resistance, water flows from the reservoir with the same speed it would have if it fell the distance \(h\) without friction. This is an example of Torricelli’s theorem.
All preceding applications of Bernoulli’s equation involved simplifying conditions, such as constant height or constant pressure. The next example is a more general application of Bernoulli’s equation in which pressure, velocity, and height all change. (See the figure below.)
Pressure in the nozzle of this fire hose is less than at ground level for two reasons: the water has to go uphill to get to the nozzle, and speed increases in the nozzle. In spite of its lowered pressure, the water can exert a large force on anything it strikes, by virtue of its kinetic energy. Pressure in the water stream becomes equal to atmospheric pressure once it emerges into the air.
Example: Calculating Pressure: A Fire Hose Nozzle
Fire hoses used in major structure fires have inside diameters of 6.40 cm. Suppose such a hose carries a flow of 40.0 L/s starting at a gauge pressure of \(1\text{.}\text{62}×{\text{10}}^{6}\phantom{\rule{0.25em}{0ex}}{\text{N/m}}^{2}\). The hose goes 10.0 m up a ladder to a nozzle having an inside diameter of 3.00 cm. Assuming negligible resistance, what is the pressure in the nozzle?
Strategy
Here we must use Bernoulli’s equation to solve for the pressure, since depth is not constant.
Solution
Bernoulli’s equation states
\({P}_{1}+\cfrac{1}{2}{\mathrm{\rho v}}_{1}^{2}+\rho {\text{gh}}_{1}={P}_{2}+\cfrac{1}{2}{\mathrm{\rho v}}_{2}^{2}+\rho {\text{gh}}_{2}\text{,}\)
where the subscripts 1 and 2 refer to the initial conditions at ground level and the final conditions inside the nozzle, respectively. We must first find the speeds \({v}_{1}\) and \({v}_{2}\). Since \(Q={A}_{1}{v}_{1}\) , we get
\({v}_{1}=\cfrac{Q}{{A}_{1}}=\cfrac{\text{40}\text{.}0×{\text{10}}^{-3}\phantom{\rule{0.25em}{0ex}}{\text{m}}^{3}\text{/s}}{\pi (3\text{.}\text{20}×{\text{10}}^{-2}\phantom{\rule{0.25em}{0ex}}\text{m}{)}^{2}}=\text{12}\text{.}4\phantom{\rule{0.25em}{0ex}}\text{m/s}\text{.}\)
Similarly, we find
\({v}_{2}=\text{56.6 m/s}\text{.}\)
(This rather large speed is helpful in reaching the fire.) Now, taking \({h}_{1}\) to be zero, we solve Bernoulli’s equation for \({P}_{2}\):
\({P}_{2}={P}_{1}+\cfrac{1}{2}\rho ({v}_{1}^{2}-{v}_{2}^{2})-\rho {\text{gh}}_{2}\text{.}\)
Substituting known values yields
\({P}_{2}=1\text{.}\text{62}×{\text{10}}^{6}\phantom{\rule{0.25em}{0ex}}{\text{N/m}}^{2}+\cfrac{1}{2}(\text{1000}\phantom{\rule{0.25em}{0ex}}{\text{kg/m}}^{3})[(\text{12}\text{.}4\phantom{\rule{0.25em}{0ex}}\text{m/s}{)}^{2}-(\text{56}\text{.}6\phantom{\rule{0.25em}{0ex}}\text{m/s}{)}^{2}]-(\text{1000}\phantom{\rule{0.25em}{0ex}}{\text{kg/m}}^{3})(9\text{.}80\phantom{\rule{0.25em}{0ex}}{\text{m/s}}^{2})(\text{10}\text{.}0\phantom{\rule{0.25em}{0ex}}\text{m})=0\text{.}\)
Discussion
This value is a gauge pressure, since the initial pressure was given as a gauge pressure. Thus the nozzle pressure equals atmospheric pressure, as it must because the water exits into the atmosphere without changes in its conditions.
This lesson is part of:
Fluid Dynamics and Applications