Why do some heats of matches go down first in a Cartesian diver experiment?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the behavior of match heads used as Cartesian divers in an experiment. Participants noted that the order in which the match heads descend is influenced by their buoyancy, with less buoyant match heads sinking first. The pressure exerted on each match head is uniform, yet the varying buoyancy levels determine the sequence of descent. Understanding the physical properties of the match heads is crucial to grasping this phenomenon.

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  • Concept of pressure equilibrium in fluids
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  • Research the principles of buoyancy and Archimedes' principle
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Oomph!
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Hello.
I think that you know an experiment called Cartesian diver.
I can use some heads of matches like Castesian divers like there:
I know how it works. However, I don't know why the heats of matches don't go down in some moment, but first one, then second with bigger force, then third with bigger force.
The pressure is on each places same, yes? So, every heat of match suck same number of watter to poores of wood. So, why they don't go down in some moment? What decide about order of matches?

Thank you very much.
 
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Oh boy, it seems we have a language barrier problem here. I too know how a Cartesian diver works, but not one that involves "heats of matches". I can guess that the heats of matches go down in some order and at the sme moment because the ones that go down first need to suck less water in the pores of the wood. In other words, the less buoyant heats of matches will go down ahead of the more buoyant ones. As to why some heats of matches are initially more buoyant than others, I have no clue without an understanding of why a heat of match behaves as a Cartesian diver.
 

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