How Does Height Affect the Diameter of a Water Drop Impact?

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SUMMARY

The forum discussion centers on a water drop experiment where liquid food coloring is dropped from varying heights to observe the relationship between drop height and the diameter of the resulting wet mark. Participants agree that as the height increases, the diameter of the mark also increases, but debate whether this relationship is linear or follows a squared pattern. Key considerations include the method of measurement for the diameter and the energy transfer involved in the drop's impact.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of basic physics concepts such as energy transfer and gravity.
  • Familiarity with experimental design and measurement techniques.
  • Knowledge of graphing data and interpreting relationships between variables.
  • Basic principles of fluid dynamics related to droplet formation.
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the principles of energy transfer in free-fall scenarios.
  • Explore fluid dynamics to understand droplet behavior upon impact.
  • Learn about statistical methods for analyzing experimental data relationships.
  • Investigate the effects of surface tension on droplet spread and diameter.
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for students conducting physics experiments, educators teaching concepts of motion and impact, and anyone interested in the scientific method of measuring physical phenomena.

DizzyDoo
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Homework Statement



Next lesson, I am doing a water drop experiment. The basic idea is that a drop of liquid food colouring will be dropped from an eye dropper at different heights. The diameter of the wet mark that is left is then recorded for all these heights. I imagine I'll then plot a graph of diameter to height.

What I am wondering is what the relationship between the height and the diameter will be?

2. The attempt at a solution

Obviously, the higher the drop is dropped from, the large the diameter of the mark left. But do you think that the diameter will be in a linear relationship with the height? I assumed so at first, but now I think about it, perhaps a squared relationship would be more obvious. Why would this be the case? And how is energy transferred in this dropping scenario?

Thank you for your time.
 
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DizzyDoo said:
What I am wondering is what the relationship between the height and the diameter will be?

This is why you are doing the experiment.

The problem ultimately is how you measure. The furthest droplet? The largest contiguous stain?

There comes a point where 1 drop cannot be expected to cover too much area.
 

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