Thank you, very much appreciated. What do you mean with the last sentence 'What can you say about the air and water pressures above the two tubes?'
Do you mean that it can work if the pressures of the air above is the same as de water at the surface of the short tube?
I wonder if air can remain trapped under a structure that has a deep and a shallow tube. I have already tested with a prototype whether increasing volume in the shallower tube works. Air bubbles came out on the short side, so this doesn't work. Is there any way to realize this concept.