Exploring the Possibilities of Giant Straws: A Scientific Inquiry

[Vandalour]

hey, I think its time to ask a expert on the matter now.

I apoly for my bad English writing at first, I'm from Denmark 26 year old We all know you can take a straw and put it into a glass of water and put your finger at the hole in the other end and pull some of the water up with the straw.

1 My question are this.. imagine this : I got ordinary straw from McDonalds I scale it up to many times its size. let's say 1 kilometer long and 50 meters in diameter. I construct a giant mechanical robotic arm out on the sea that can handle the 1 kilometer straw as a normal human would at a normal scale. Would the big difference in size matter ? or would I be able to dip it down in the sea with my robotic arm and seal the hole with my robotic finger and pull it up and take water with me up ??

2 If the above would work and the scale don't affect the straws functions. that would make "in this case" 50 meters in diameter "lake" hover above anyone´s head while swimming under the straw while its pulled up by the robotic arm. And the question : What would happen if the person swimming under the straw jumped from a boat up in the water while its hovering over him ? will the water rush out of the straw or would he be able to swim "up" ? And then..

3 If the giant straw worked.. what would happen to the person that try to jump up from the boat into the water hovering in the straw.. I'm thinking of pressure, if the straw is 1 kilometer long and let's say its filled with water up 250 meters.. would the person be crushed by pressures when he touch the water ? because I'm thinking that he is at the bottom of the water witch the pressure much be high ?

4 Let's say this is not possible because of the size.. if so, then if I could shrink myself so small that a normal straw would seam like a 1 kilometer long straw.. then it would work ?? If so I'm confused, because that's just a matter of size again.. just the other way around. Please help me, I'm seeing straws everywhere now ;)

 

[BAnders1]

1
In theory, the only condition required for the water in the straw to hover is that the force pushing the water down (mg) is equal to the force pushing the water up (PA) where P is the pressure difference between the top of the water and the bottom.

Now for a circular lake of diameter 50m, the mass per unit length will be
Pi*(25m)^2 * 1000 kg/m^3 = 1.96*10^6 kg/m. The area of this floating lake will be Pi*(25m)^2 = 1.96*10^3. the pressure difference P required to hold up a 1 meter deep lake of this area is the gravitational force of the water divided by the area of the water: P = [1m*1.96*10^6kg/m*(9.81 m/s^2)] / 1.96*10^3 = 9810 Pa. If there is a perfect vacuum between the top of the water and the robotic arm, then the pressure difference between the top and the bottom will be 1 atm = 101300Pa, meaning a floating lake would exist with a depth of about 10m.

I'm pretty sure my analysis is theoretically correct, but I'd wait a while for someone to call shenanigans on me before you take my word.

2 and 3
If a person jumped up into the water, then he/she would also have a pressure below him/her pushing them up. If the floating lake were 10m deep, they would feel the same pressure as they would feel at 10m below the surface of water at sea level.

 

[charng]

Hello,

Thank you for sharing your interesting ideas about exploring the possibilities of giant straws. I appreciate your curiosity and enthusiasm for this topic.

To answer your first question, the size of the straw does matter. In general, as objects increase in size, their properties and functions can change. In the case of a giant straw, the weight and pressure of the water in the straw would increase significantly, making it difficult for a robotic arm to lift and maneuver it. Additionally, the structural integrity of the straw may also be compromised at such a large scale.

Regarding your second question, if the giant straw were able to function as a normal straw, the person swimming under it would likely experience a sudden rush of water as the straw is lifted out of the sea. However, it is important to note that this scenario is not feasible due to the reasons mentioned above.

In terms of your third question, if the person were to jump into the water under the giant straw, they would likely experience intense pressure due to the weight of the water above them. This could potentially cause harm or even injury to the person. Again, this is not a realistic scenario due to the limitations of the giant straw.

Lastly, if you were to shrink yourself to a size where a normal straw would appear as a 1 kilometer long straw, the laws of physics would still apply. The pressure and weight of the water would still be too much for a small human to handle, making it impossible for you to swim upwards through the straw.

In conclusion, while your ideas are creative and imaginative, the limitations of physics and the properties of objects at different scales make it unlikely for a giant straw to function in the way you described. However, I encourage you to continue exploring and asking questions about different scientific concepts, as this is how new discoveries and innovations are made.

Best regards,