The hydrostatic paradox.

The first thing we need to remember is that liquids do NOT behave like solids. Liquid is one of the principal states of matter. A liquid is a fluid that has the particles loose and can freely form a distinct surface at the boundaries of its bulk material. The surface is a free surface where the liquid is not constrained by a container. A liquid's shape is confined to, not determined by, the container it fills. The volume of a quantity of liquid is fixed by its temperature and pressure. Unless this volume exactly matches the volume of the container, a surface is observed. Liquids in a gravitational field, like all fluids, exert pressure on the sides of a container as well as on anything within the liquid itself. This pressure is transmitted in all directions and increases with depth. Simon Stevin (1548 1620) was a Flemish mathematician and engineer who first described the hydrostatic paradox, which states that the downward pressure of any given liquid is independent of the shape of the vessel, and depends only on its height and base. So what does this mean? Let us picture a series of vessels of various shapes that are connected at the bottom with a small diameter pipe that allows liquid transfer between the vessels. We now fill these vessels with a liquid, say water, and observe:

We note that the water level rises uniformly in the device regardless of the shape and volume of the containers. The liquid surface is at all times perpendicular to the flow of gravity. This also happens if we put the entire device on an angle. Like so:

The fascinating part is, and that is where most people who have not studied the subject make a fundamental error, that anywhere in the device the pressure is the same, even in the connecting pipe, the pressure being uniform in the entire device at any given height, since the height of the TOTAL COLUMN OF LIQUID determines the pressure. This is where pressure in a liquid system is totally different from pressure exerted by solid bodies.

Let us look at an example and see how this varies between solids and liquids.

Here we have a body made out of a material with the same density as water. We now take this body and rest it on the small surface, at the side of it we have the same body resting on the large surface, like so:

In figure A the entire weight of the body is resting on a surface area of 1 cm2. The pressure exerted therefore is 3kg/cm2. That is obvious. In figure B the area the weight rests on is 10 cm by 10cm which is 100 cm2. Since the weight is evenly distributed over an area of 100 cm2 the pressure exerted is 3 kg divided by 100 which gives us 30 g/cm2. That much is also obvious. We now have the same weight, distributed in exactly the same fashion by a liquid inside a container. Like so:

Instinct would tell us that the pressure at the bottom of the vessels is identical to the pressure exerted by solids, namely 3kg/cm2 in figure C and 30g/cm2 in figure D. This is not so, and this is where most people who have not studied the subject go astray. In a hydrostatic system the pressure at the bottom is determined by the height of the liquid column and the density (specific gravity, if you wish) of the liquid, nothing else. In our example we have taken the column height as 1 m or 100 cm. We have used water as the liquid with a specific gravity of 1. That means that 1 cm3 of water weighs 1 gram. Since the column is 100 cm high the weight of the water column is therefore 100 times 1 gram which gives us a pressure at the bottom of the column of 100g/cm2 regardless of its shape or over how large an area it is spread.

This is difficult to understand but nevertheless a verifiable fact that is being demonstrated in physics laboratories all over the world on a regular basis since it is fundamental to the understanding of hydrostatics. This is why it is called the hydrostatic paradox. The common misunderstanding of the hydrostatic paradox has led would be inventors to design a number of devices that cannot possibly work, yet look quite reasonable to the average person. One such device that has been kicking around in one form or another for a very long time is the device in figure E.

The reasoning is something like this: We have 10 kg of water in the container and only say a half a kg or so of water in the tube. Therefore the 10 kg will push the small water column up high enough to operate the waterwheel. As I said before this looks like a reasonable proposition. The hydrostatic paradox however dictates otherwise. The water column in the tube will go no further than in figure F whether there are 10, 100 or 10,000 kg of Water in the trough. The ONLY thing that matters is the height of the water column and the pressure it is capable of exerting. That does not mean that the 10 kg or so disappear, far from it, except that the weight is evenly absorbed by the container walls. Weight as such is meaningless in a hydrostatic system, only pressure generated by the liquid mass is legitimate, within the confines of pressure distribution of course. The so called Knitel Infinity Pump is nothing but an inversion of the same idea and does not work for the same reasons. Let me show you what I mean:

Figure G is what we have just discussed, figure H is the inversion. Can you see the similarity between Figure H and Knitels idea? The next thing we need to do now is to determine what happens to the system when we turn it upside down so to speak.

Taking my first example drawing of the hydrostatic paradox, let us invert the device and rest it in a trough filled with water. Like so:

It is possible to do this within limits, so let us examine for a minute why this is so. Here is where a new element enters into the equation, namely atmospheric pressure. Atmospheric pressure is roughly equivalent to a hydrostatic pressure of 1 kg/cm2. I say roughly, because there is no such thing as a precise value for atmospheric pressure, except in a specific location at one particular moment. The atmospheric pressure varies with elevation (less pressure the higher you go) and the weather (high and low pressure systems).

Here we see very clearly how the 1 m water column is held in place by atmospheric pressure. We can extend the water column upwards up to 10 m, which is the point where both pressure systems equalise. This is why I said earlier that we can do this within limits.

The Siphon effect.

The hydrostatic paradox and the influence of atmospheric pressure are both being made use of in the siphon. The siphon (also spelled syphon in some books) is a simple machine that has been around since antiquity. Some textbooks say that it was invented by Ctesibius (or Ktesibios or Tesibius) (285222 BC) a Greek inventor and mathematician who lived in Alexandria, Egypt and was reputed to be the head of the first Museum in Alexandria. His work was taken up by Heron (or Hero) of Alexandria (ca. 1070 AD), a Greek inventor and scientist who wrote about siphons in his book on pneumatics. He also invented the first working steam engine. In reality the siphon is much older. Egyptian bas reliefs from around 1500 BC show workers transferring liquids from large storage jars using a siphon.

So, what is a siphon and how does it work?

Wikipedia informs us : A siphon (also spelled syphon) is a continuous tube that allows liquid to drain from a reservoir through an intermediate point that is higher, or lower, than the reservoir, the flow being driven only by the difference in hydrostatic pressure without any need for pumping. It is necessary that the final end of the tube be lower than the liquid surface in the reservoir. The explanation given is both exhaustive and accurate, so I leave it here as read. Most of us are familiar with siphons and have seen them work. To many people there is something magic about it because here the water flows seemingly uphill, something we are taught at an early age is impossible. So what are the forces at work here that make the phenomenon possible?

First we must understand that the siphon tube must be filled before the action can commence. To understand what is happening from here on let us break the system up into its individual components. First we have the atmospheric pressure of 1 kg/cm2 acting on the surface of the water. Since the same pressure acts also on the open end of the siphon tube, both forces are in balance and do nothing. If we call the entire water column in the tube x we see there are three distinct sections. (The section of tubing below the water level in the top container does not contribute to the action and we do not need to concern ourselves with that here.)

x1 is the section that rises to the crest of the tubing. It is through this section the
water needs to climb, which requires an input of energy.

x2 is the corresponding section on the descending side. The two heights are by
necessity identical, therefore the pressures in both sections are the same and balance each other out. They do not contribute in any positive sense to the action either. What does provide the propulsive force is the water in section x3. The water in this section provides a downward pressure commensurate with the height of the section. Since the tube is open on the bottom, gravity can act to propel the water downwards. Water in an unbroken column confined in a tube acts as a cohesive unit and the water that drains through the bottom of the tube kind of drags the rest of the column with it. The integrity of the water column cannot be compromised, for instance any air entering the tube will create an embolism (a bubble if you wish), as a result the entire column breaks up and the siphon action stops. Now that we understand what a siphon is let us look at how this works in practice and see what can be done and what cannot be done with it.

What a siphon can and cannot do

Here we see the action of a siphon. In figure 1 the downward force x3 is strong. Therefore the flow of water through the siphon is strong also. In figure 2 we see that as the level of water in the container is sinking x3 diminishes and with it the downward force. The stream of water slows gradually down to a trickle until the level of water in the container is equal to the level of the outlet at which point x3 is equal to zero, there is no further downward pressure and the flow stops. (see figure 3) When that happens air enters into the system and the water column collapses. That much is known to anyone who has ever used a siphon. What happens then when the liquid is transferred to another container of equal size both containers being on the same plane. Like so:

The water will drain until both liquid surfaces are at the same level. What is interesting here is that the water column in the tube above the water surface in the containers remains in place and seemingly hangs in mid air. Why is this so? We see that all forces are in balance. The pressures in the descending and ascending tube are equal, the pressures in the containers are equal, as is the atmospheric pressure on both sides. We have reached equilibrium. But, I hear you argue, the water column in the tube is above both surfaces and therefore represents potential energy. Indeed it does, but, and here comes the crunch, this energy is NOT free. In order to get the siphon action going in the first place we had to fill the siphon tube with water. The potential energy stored in the column is exactly equal to the amount of energy we had to expend to fill the tube and put it in place. There is no gain. This fact is almost always overlooked by people who design perpetual motion hydraulic systems.

There are other misconceptions.

Figure 1 does not work. Even if the entire tube was filled with water as soon as the water flow is released the water in the larger tube-section will drain faster than the rest of the tube can supply, air enters into the system and the action stops. Figure 2 does work as long as the area of the outlet is smaller than or equal to the area of the tube inner diameter. There is no gain however as there is no increased force because of the larger diameter, as only the distance x3 counts, the increased diameter of the descending column of water being irrelevant because any additional weight is absorbed by the container walls and floor. This is also misconstrued in must PM designs. Figure 3 also shows a misconception. The widening of the riser tube inside the liquid body does not give an imbalance of forces. I leave it to you to figure out why, by now I have given you enough information to work it out.

I will leave it here for the moment, the next segment, before specifically addressing the various non working designs, will be devoted to buoyancy. This is another misunderstood phenomenon and equally important.