Undergrad Why Doesn't the McLaren Oil in Water Engine Work?

[whizzdoms1973]

TL;DR

Impossible oil in water engine, but can anyone explain why it cant work please?

Here we have an oil engine. Oil is fed in at the bottom of a column of water, rises up and collects at the top of the column, it overflows into an adjacent column which could be of larger diameter, and is fed back into the column of water. I know it won't work but can someone please explain why not?

 

[Baluncore]

Welcome to PF, where any mention of perpetual motion will probably see your thread locked.

The hydrostatic pressure at the bottom of the water column will be greater than at the bottom of the oil column, so water will flow down and across into the oil column, until the water level is the same on both sides.

There is no source of energy to keep it going.

 

[Dale]

We don’t discuss perpetual motion machines here.

can someone please explain why not?

It cannot work because it violates the conservation of energy.