How Much Additional Force Is Needed to Hold a Water Hose Stationary?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around determining the additional force required to hold a water hose stationary when water is flowing through it. The problem involves concepts from fluid dynamics and Newton's laws of motion, specifically focusing on the relationship between mass flow rate and momentum.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants explore the relationship between the flow rate of water and the force needed to counteract the momentum generated. There is discussion about the assumptions regarding pressure and the effects of water speed on the force required to hold the hose steady.

Discussion Status

Some participants have provided calculations and reasoning related to momentum, while others question the necessity of additional parameters like pressure. There appears to be a mix of interpretations regarding the underlying physics, with some guidance offered on dimensional analysis as a tool for approaching the problem.

Contextual Notes

There is mention of the need for clarity on how to create new threads, indicating some participants are new to the forum. Additionally, the discussion includes varying levels of confidence in the assumptions made about the physics involved.

djlightsout06
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I really just need help getting started...

What additional force is necessary to hold a water hose stationary after the water flow is turned on, if the discharge rate is .6 kg/sec with a speed of 25 m/s?

Thanks in advance..
 
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I'm not sure, but until someone better at physics responds, this'll probably tide you over:

When the water is going forward, I guess it's pushing the hose/person holding it backward

the momentum going forward is .6kg*25m/s, and you get the force by taking the change in momentum over the change in time, 0.6kg/s * 25m/s => 15kg*m/s^2 = 15N

I don't know if my underlying assumption is correct there, tho
 
thanks, that's exactly the info that i needed to get going.
 
confused: can anyone tell how can i ask my own problems?/creat threads?
 
I think you'd also need to know H20 pressure, or at least, I guess, differential pressure, because if you think about the idea of a culvert through which a river runs, there is no force because the water just flows through the bottom part. So if you had a hose and you could get flow rate of .6kg/s through it without the hose being full, there's little or no pressure drop as the water leaves the hose. does that make sense?

All you are measuring with flow rate and mass is the force the water can exert on an object it hits, which doesn't help you that much in answering your question.
 
Phantom...you don't need to know that. The question only involves Newton's third law. The force the water can exert on an object, in fact, can't be known unless you know how much speed the water recoils with.
 
But you DO know the speed. I just misread the question. The answer was correct. The momentum equation works fine. Zero momentum before you turn on the hose and 15 kg-m/s2 afterwards. Got it.
 
new threads

hi_rudra said:
confused: can anyone tell how can i ask my own problems?/creat threads?


Just click on the "new thread" button at the top of the listed page.
 
(ignore this message)

Hi people
I'm just testing to see if this thread gets posted. This is the first time I've used theis site.
 
  • #10
KillaMarcilla said:
I'm not sure, but until someone better at physics responds, this'll probably tide you over:

When the water is going forward, I guess it's pushing the hose/person holding it backward

the momentum going forward is .6kg*25m/s, and you get the force by taking the change in momentum over the change in time, 0.6kg/s * 25m/s => 15kg*m/s^2 = 15N

I don't know if my underlying assumption is correct there, tho

Yeah KillaMarcilla, you are precicely right. As water has a density of 1.00 kg/L you don't need to account for it's density change. So, to hold the hose steady, you would have to apply a force of 15N onto the hose.
 
  • #11
Killamarcilla is correct.

Anyways, a useful trick to help you get started on any problem is dimensional analysis. For example, in this problem you are given 2 quantities whose dimensions are kg/s and m/s. You are asked to find a quantity whose dimensions are Newtons or kg.m/s^2. Clearly the product of the dimensions of the given quantities gives you the dimensions of the required answer. This suggests that multiplying the 2 numbers may be the way to go.

However, let this not be the only thing you do to solve a problem. It does not consider dimensionless constants or involve an understanding of the underlying physics. It's just a useful trick for checking solutions.
 

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