100sqft wormhole from sea level to outer space?

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a hypothetical scenario involving a wormhole that connects sea level to outer space, specifically focusing on the air velocity as it attempts to equalize with a vacuum. Participants explore the implications of a sudden pressure difference and its effects on wind speeds and weather, while clarifying the nature of the model and its limitations.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant seeks to understand the air velocity through a 100 square foot hole created in a vacuum, noting that the model is not intended to be sustained and that the overall atmospheric impact would be negligible.
  • Another participant suggests that the scenario depends on unknown physics related to the wormhole, questioning the feasibility of the model.
  • A participant summarizes the scenario by asking about the wind speed near the wormhole, specifically considering the pressure difference at 100 km altitude.
  • One response indicates that if the scenario is treated as a tall tube, the wind speed would be zero.
  • There is a discussion about the implications of the wormhole scenario on the concept of perpetual motion machines, with participants expressing caution about making definitive statements regarding unspecified spacetime.
  • A participant reiterates the question of what happens when a wall separating a large volume of air at atmospheric pressure from a vacuum is breached, suggesting that this aspect is more answerable than the wormhole concept itself.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the feasibility and implications of the wormhole scenario, with some focusing on the theoretical aspects of air flow and pressure differences, while others question the validity of the model itself. There is no consensus on the overall implications of the scenario.

Contextual Notes

The discussion highlights limitations related to the assumptions made about the wormhole and the nature of spacetime, as well as the unresolved mathematical aspects of calculating air flow in such a hypothetical situation.

shintashi
Messages
117
Reaction score
1
TL;DR
Assuming the difference in pressure of say, 100km up in space, and a portal 10x10, what would the wind speed be near the wormhole/portal?
Hypothetical scenario and I'm trying to understand the velocity of the air as it tries to equalize with a large vacuum. I presume this model isn't very much different from an initial loss of 1 atmosphere pressure in space via some puncture. I'm mainly concerned with the immediate wind speeds and possible influence on weather. The model isn't intended to be sustained for more than 60 seconds so "draining the atmosphere/oceans" isn't what I'm looking for, and statistically, while I don't know what the wind speed might be for a 100 square foot hole (circle or square) I do know the volume of Atmosphere is so high that the total impact of a 60 second hole would be negligible on displacing its whole mass.

Again, I just want I know how fast the air would flow through the hole.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Depends on unknowable physics of your wormhole.

Do you basically want to know what happens if you have a wall separating a very very large volume of air at atmospheric pressure from a very very large evacuated volume, and you open a hole in the wall? That's answerable. The wormhole one isn't, really.
 
shintashi said:
Summary:: Assuming the difference in pressure of say, 100km up in space, and a portal 10x10, what would the wind speed be near the wormhole/portal?

Again, I just want I know how fast the air would flow through the hole.
It sounds like you are writing a SF story. Is that correct?
 
shintashi said:
Summary:: Assuming the difference in pressure of say, 100km up in space, and a portal 10x10, what would the wind speed be near the wormhole/portal?
If this is just a very tall tube, the answer is zero.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: PeroK
Ibix said:
The wormhole one isn't, really.

Would it be acceptable to say that it doesn't make a perpetuum mobile possible?
 
DrStupid said:
Would it be acceptable to say that it doesn't make a perpetuum mobile possible?
I wouldn't make any statements at all about an unspecified spacetime. From the point of view of PF rules, one would hope you are right...
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: russ_watters
Ibix said:
You basically want to know what happens if you have a wall separating a very very large volume of air at atmospheric pressure from a very very large evacuated volume, and you open a hole in the wall? That's answerable.

this.
 

Similar threads

Undergrad Air density with a significantly higher sea level
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
High School Creating a Wormhole: Process & Theory
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
Undergrad What Keeps Water in a Straw When It's Removed from a Glass?
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
6K
High School Melting Ice Caps and Sea Level Rise: Separating Fact from Fiction
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
13K
Reduced Efficiency at Sea Level
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
4K
High School Can frame dragging do this?
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
853
High School Formation of a black hole using acceleration
  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
2K
Undergrad Would a 10km/s projectile disintegrate at sea level?
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
High School Question about things moving through outer space
  • · Replies 27 ·
Replies
27
Views
4K
High School Help understanding the physics of airflow
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K