Pressure gain from water dropped from a height

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the pressure generated in a one cubic meter steel box when water is dropped from a height of twenty meters. Participants explore the relationship between the height of the water column and the resulting pressure, comparing it to the pressure experienced twenty meters underwater in the ocean.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Technical explanation, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions the clarity of the original scenario, noting the need for precise definitions regarding the dimensions of the box and the water source.
  • Another participant explains that the pressure at the bottom of a water column is determined by the height of the water, referencing Bernoulli's equation and the conversion of potential energy to pressure.
  • A later post introduces a modified scenario involving a larger water tank and asks if the pressure in the box would match that of being twenty meters underwater, suggesting that the pressure might depend on the water source.
  • One participant asserts that in the modified scenario, the pressure would indeed be equal to that of being twenty meters under the ocean.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the impact of the water source and the configuration of the system. While one participant agrees that the pressure would match that of being underwater, others raise questions about the assumptions involved, indicating that the discussion remains unresolved.

Contextual Notes

There are limitations regarding the assumptions made about the dimensions and configurations of the water source and the box, as well as the implications of Bernoulli's principle in this context.

nfneilfrancis
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if an unlimited source of water was dropped twenty meters directly downwards into a meter cubed steel box through a hose, would there be the same psi in the box as there would be twenty meters under the sea?
 
Last edited:
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Welcome to PF.

The question doesn't make all that much sense - the box is a cube, not a square, right? So what is the depth? 1m?

Anyway...the pressure at the bottom (directly under) of a column of water is equal to the pressure due to the height. This is a manifestation of pressure conversion in Bernoulli's equation: potential energy due to height converted to velocity, then velocity pressure converted to static pressure on impact.

But that means if you pour water from a garden hose into a 1 meter cubed container 20m below, the pressure will not be the same as 20m under the ocean because the garden hose is much smaller than 1 square meter in cross sectional area (and the water column, much smaller than that).
 
thanks very much for the help, but it is difficult to describe my question without a diagram... if for example a water-tank containing 50 square meters of water was suspended 20m vertically over a one cubed meter box and they were connected by an airtight hose... would the box have the same psi as there would be 20m under the sea, or would the pressure depend on the water in the water-tank?
 
Last edited:
In your second case, the pressure would be equal to being 20m under the ocean.
 
thanks very much!
 

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