Water falling = how much power?

Click For Summary

Homework Help Overview

The original poster presents a problem involving the calculation of power generated by water falling from a height, specifically a waterfall scenario where water flows at a certain mass flow rate and falls a specified distance.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Some participants suggest using the power equation related to potential energy and its conversion to kinetic energy. Others discuss the relationship between mass flow rate, gravitational potential energy, and power generation.

Discussion Status

Participants are exploring different approaches to relate the mass flow rate and height to power generation. Some guidance has been offered regarding the calculation of potential energy and its conversion to kinetic energy, but no consensus has been reached on the specific method to apply.

Contextual Notes

The original poster expresses uncertainty about how the numbers relate in the power equation, indicating a potential gap in understanding the underlying concepts.

Bigdane
Messages
14
Reaction score
0
Water flows over a section of a waterfall at the rate of 3.2 104 kg/s and falls 33 m. How much power is generated by the falling water?
watts

i tried to use the power equation but I am just not sure how the numbers relate.
help please?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
You need to calculate the rate of potential energy delivery which is m*g*h/sec.
 
use energy:

E[tex]_{gravitational}[/tex] before = E[tex]_{kinetic}[/tex] after

The gravitational energy of the water is turned into kinetic energy

the amount of power generated is the energy per second.
 
thanks guys
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
1K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
784
  • · Replies 17 ·
Replies
17
Views
6K
Replies
4
Views
3K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 22 ·
Replies
22
Views
3K
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K