Tagged Questions

4
votes
2answers
116 views

Physics behind the flow of gas coming out of a balloon

I'm working with stratospheric balloons (latex ones) and I want to put a valve on it so it can float for a longer time. I'm trying to define which valve I should use, which demands I estimate the flow ...
1
vote
1answer
126 views

How fast does water fall in the middle of a very very thick waterfall?

Let me create a very artificial experimental set up. Take a bathtub the size of Delaware and suspend it a mile above the ground. Fill it with water (though I'm not sure to what depth - and it might ...
3
votes
2answers
116 views

How to relate speed of sound with relative humidity?

I am exploring the idea of measuring the humidity of a space using sound waves, however I am having trouble finding a mathematical relationship between the speed of sound and the humidity level. ...
0
votes
1answer
118 views

What caused Simon Faithfull's chair to fall appart?

There is an art/science video clip on youtube, by Simon Faithful, called Escape Vehicle no.6 (chair in space). It shows a simple steel office chair, tied to a weather balloon, ascending into the upper ...
4
votes
3answers
225 views

atmospheric phenomenon? What causes condensation trails to converge?

This air plane just caught my eye. Two contrails apparently are flowing backward, slightly off-centered and then ultimately converge, giving the overall shape of a very narrow rhomboid parallelogram, ...
0
votes
2answers
148 views

Train motion… Push or Pull?

While arguing against my friend today about the turbulence appearing between train's wheels. I told that the train pushes air aside during its motion through the tracks. But, he rejected it. Then, ...
1
vote
2answers
88 views

Why does letting air into a box of wine help the flow?

I've notied that when I get down to the last part of a box of wine, the flow slows to a trickle. If I open the nozzle, tilt the box back (letting air gurgle into the bladder) and then tilt it back ...
1
vote
2answers
155 views

Fluid Dynamics - Water Bottle Drink Mix: Air or No Air?

If you take an ordinary sized plastic water bottle full of water and pour a packet of powdered (or liquid) drink mix into it, Will shaking the bottle with the cap screwed on to dissolve the mix into ...
5
votes
1answer
430 views

Paper plane between two fans - is this possible?

The setup: two fans facing each other, distance around 1m. Both are turned on. In between them, place a simple paper plane and according to this video, it will fly. ...
5
votes
1answer
184 views

What is the roaring in a roaring fire?

I was just starting a barbecue fire by blowing on the smouldering coals when I realised I had no idea what the sound was actually caused by. I can make the sound by blowing at almost any flame I can ...
13
votes
4answers
676 views

Why is exhaling more forceful than inhaling?

By blowing at pencil, a piece of paper, or another object up to fifty centimeters away, I can cause it to move away from me significantly. But I can't move an object toward myself by inhaling sharply ...
4
votes
1answer
267 views

wind vs air resistance

I'm wondering which offers more resistance: pulling an object at some speed through air, or holding the object steady against wind at the same speed. I think initially people would think same ...
6
votes
5answers
2k views

Does it take significantly more fuel to fly a heavier airplane?

I was reading in the papers how some-airline-or-the-other increased their prices for extra luggage, citing increased fuel costs. Now I'm a bit skeptical. Using the (wrong) Bernoulli-effect ...
3
votes
1answer
200 views

Local Mach number for an airfoil

I would like to know how to calculate the local Mach number on the upper surface of an airfoil given the ambient temperature, the local velocity on the airfoil surface, the freestream velocity, and ...
1
vote
3answers
925 views

How does the Dyson air multiplier fan create negative pressure?

I'm curious as to how the Dyson air multiplier fan works. So far I understand that it creates negative air pressure that causes air behind and around the device to be sucked into the air stream and ...
2
votes
1answer
99 views

Clouds in closed hydrosphere

Is possible estimate the needed size of an geodesic dome (like in the Eden project) for creating an real hydrosphere - especially clouds (and rain)? With other words, under what circumstances can ...
1
vote
2answers
175 views

Horizontal Speed of Descending Parachute

I understand how to get the vertical (descent speed) of a parachute and its payload, but how could one find the horizontal speed/velocity of this parachute depending on the speed of the wind? (yeah I ...
-1
votes
1answer
112 views

Air simulation environment [closed]

I will preface this with the fact that I am not a physicist...I am an engineer by trade. I am working on a research problem that will involve flight of an organism with varying shapes, and I am ...
3
votes
1answer
175 views

Fluid Dynamics: Bernoulli Air Tunnel

I have the following question as part of a lab intro to explain the more complicated stuff I'l actually have to submit in the lab. I put all the questions here just to show my thought pattern/what ...
2
votes
1answer
251 views

Air flow coming out of a fan feels much stronger than air flow coming in. Why? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Why is exhaling more forceful than inhaling? If I put my hand behind my computer's system block, I can feel a very strong flux of air coming out, as it is being pushed ...
3
votes
2answers
516 views

Is the wind's force on a stationary object proportional to $v^2$?

I am on a boat docked at Cape Charles, VA, about 30 or 40 miles from the center of Hurricane Irene. This understandably got me thinking about the force of wind on the boat. Since air friction is ...
0
votes
1answer
191 views

What is it that makes this structure cause turbulence?

I'm trying to design a quasi-simple vertical axis wind turbine, and a coworker came up with this design to focus the wind as it reaches the turbine in a wind tunnel. He says that there's going to be ...
4
votes
5answers
718 views

Is it possible for wind to break the sound barrier?

I understand that in nature wind would never get high enough, but I am just curious as to whether physics would allow this to occur or not.