Curved water flow

What It Shows

Exhibition items mainly use an audio generator to generate different sound wave frequencies and apply them to the water flow line. We will see the bent water flow. This is because when the sound waves propagate, they encounter obstacles and the water flow line forms pressure on the water flow line. Therefore, the water flow line receives a horizontal force, and the water flow line will bend at the point of force. When the water flow line is subjected to forces of different directions and sizes, the degree of bending of the water flow also varies.

Display principle

The exhibition items involve a wealth of scientific knowledge, including the forces between water molecules, Newtonian mechanics, sound waves, and optical illusions. When the water flow just leaves the outlet, it will fall downwards under the action of gravity. However, due to the gravitational force acting between water molecules, they are like children holding hands and will not separate, so what we see is a bundle of falling water flow.

What is the reason for the bending phenomenon of the water flow we see?

During the propagation of sound waves, when encountering obstacles, they will exert a certain amount of pressure on the obstacles. By emitting sound waves through an audio generator, the water flow is subjected to horizontal pressure during its descent, causing it to bend at the point of force. If only a horizontal force is applied instantaneously, only one bending will occur. Only when the horizontal force appears periodically at a certain frequency, will the water flowing through the point of force bend each time. Due to the viscosity of water, the water flow will bend and continue; And due to inertia, the water flow will maintain a continuous curved state.

When the sound wave is a simple sine wave, the pressure exerted by the sound wave on the water flow varies sinusoidally, making the water flow appear as a sine waveform. But when the vertical water flow is subjected to two horizontal forces perpendicular to each other at the outlet, the water flow will form a spiral shape under the combined effect of the two horizontal forces and gravity.

The phenomenon of visual persistence, also known as the "afterglow effect", is a phenomenon in which the visual effects of light on the retina are retained for a period of time after the light stops acting. When the human eye observes a scene, the light signal is transmitted to the brain nerves, which takes a short period of time, about one twenty fourth of a second. So after the effect of light ends, the visual image does not immediately disappear.

Operation method

(1) Rotate the knob to activate the device and observe the bending of the falling water flow;

(2) Rotate the knob to change the frequency and observe the changes in water flow.