It's raining, the first drop comes spring drops, pour tea into a cup or open the tap in the bathroom... Water flows, runs, drips from top to bottom. Right?
Imagine a world in which water flows from bottom to top. It seems that this is impossible and water always flows down.
But is it always?
We conducted two experiments proving the possibility of water moving from bottom to top.
Rainbow experiments with water
They poured some water on a saucer and brought a napkin. For beauty, rainbow dots were drawn on a napkin with felt-tip pens. And the water quickly began to rise up the napkin, turning it from boring white paper into rainbow-cheerful
Another beautiful experiment.
Water was poured into six glasses, food coloring was poured into three of them. You can also paint with watercolors. Painted red, yellow and Blue colour. They placed a strip of white cloth on top of the glasses so that it slightly touched the water in each glass and began to wait.
We waited an hour later.
Water is an accessible and simple ingredient for experiments. It’s in every home. And you can do a lot of experiments with water. And today we told you about some of the brightest ones. If you liked conducting experiments with water, please accept a book from me as a GIFT. This collection contains 15 experiments that will become a fascinating continuation of your child’s educational journey into the world of science. I hope you find science fun. Good luck with your experiments, friends.
The water tower of one of the collective farms in the Spassky district of the Gorky region is unremarkable in appearance. She has been supplying the villagers for years spring water. However, when you get closer, you will not hear the usual noise of the water pump - it is not there! And although the source is located significantly below the level of the upper tank, the water constantly, with only short breaks, rises upward! Isn't it a miracle? No, it’s just that a Gorky craftsman, a fitter L. Cherepkov, managed to invent and test in practice an original hydraulic installation in which... the energy of the source itself is used to lift water. We invite our readers to get acquainted with the principles of its operation and design.
Simple installation of water supply in rural areas: The electric pump supplies water to the pressure tank, from where it is supplied to consumers. But electricity to raise water is often generated by local hydroelectric power stations by converting the pressure of a moving stream. So, in this case, is it not possible to do without the help of electricity at all, forcing only the source of water to work - a stream, a spring? This can be done using a simple hydraulic installation that operates on the principle of a kind of “swing”: draining a certain amount of water ensures that part of it rises to a certain height above the source.
The structure of a motorless automatic water lift is shown in Figure 1. Its main parts are: a water tank, a source well, pressure and air sealed tanks with valve mechanisms and connecting pipes.
Water from the spring fills the well. As soon as its level reaches the inlet of the connecting pipe 9, it begins to flow into the pressure tank. When it is filled, the level in the well will rise to the edge of pipe 8 and water will begin to flow into the air tank. The pressure of the air compressed there is transmitted through pipe 2 to the pressure tank, and since the height H1 is greater than H2 by the amount of pressure loss from resistance in the pipes, water from there will rise into the water tank. The reverse flow of water from the pressure tank into the well will be prevented by the closed check valve A.
Rice. 1. Water lift diagram:
1 - air tank, 2 - air pipe, 3 - pressure tank, 4 - well, 5 - spring, 6 - water tank, 7 - discharge pipe, 8 - pressure pipe, 9 - connecting pipe; A, B - valves of the pressure tank.
The supply of water to the water tank will continue until the air tank is filled with water. At the same time, its valve mechanism will operate and the water will flow into the drain hole. Then the work cycle is repeated.
The valve mechanism of the air tank (Fig. 2) works as follows. Water entering through pipe 3, displacing air into the pressure tank, fills the air tank. Having risen in it to the upper level of the cylinder, the water will raise the float 10, which will close the valve 13, blocking access to the float glass 2. It will only be able to get into it through the upper cut of the glass - when all the air is displaced into the pressure tank. When filling the glass
The float with its levers will open the air and drain rivets, communicating the pressure tank with the atmosphere, and the air valve with the drain pipe 14. The valves will remain open until the tank is empty. And only when the water flows out of the cylinder 11 through a small hole 12, the float 10 will open the drain valve 13 of the glass with its lever. Float 2 will drop and close valves 8 and 15 - the tank is ready for use again.
The performance of such a water lift depends on the flow rate of the source, the height of the water rise, and the diameter of the pipes. The existing installation with a water drop of H1 = 8.2 m and a pressure of H2 = 7 m has a capacity of 21,312 liters of water per day. One tank charging cycle takes 15 minutes and supplies 222 liters to the water tower, draining 507 liters from the air tower.
Rice. 2. Air tank valve mechanism:
1 - glass, 2 - float, 3 - pressure pipe, 4 - air pipe, 5, 6, 7 - float levers, 8 - air valve, 9 - lever, 10 - float, 11 - cylinder, 12 - bypass hole, 13 - valve, 14 - drain pipe, 15 - drain valve.
The installation is simple in design and can be made from readily available materials in small machine shops. Reliability, trouble-free operation and autonomy allow such a water lift to be operated far from power lines and used to create artificial reservoirs, irrigation systems, and other household needs. Thanks to automatic mode, the system can long time work without human supervision.
The diagram shows only one version of such an installation, operating on the principle of a hydraulic compressor. To obtain greater pressure, the system can be made two-stage: with a sequential rise of water in two pressure tanks. The absence of a hydraulic connection between the air and pressure tank allows the installation to operate on two sources of water, when, for example, a clean spring has a low productivity, and a fast-moving mountain stream flowing nearby is unsuitable for drinking. Then spring water can only flow into the pressure tank, and from the stream into the air tank, creating the necessary pressure in the system.
If the readers of the magazine are interested in my message, I will be happy to share my experience and new ideas with them.
L. Cherepnov, Gorky.
The water tower of the collective farm “Zavety Ilyich” in the Spassky district of the Gorky region is unremarkable in appearance. It has been supplying the villagers with spring water for many years. However, when you get closer, you will not hear the usual noise of the water pump - it is not there! And although the source is located significantly below the level of the upper tank, the water constantly, with only short breaks, rises upward! Isn't it a miracle? No, just a Gorky craftsman, assembly mechanic L. Cherepnov, managed to invent and test in practice an original hydraulic installation in which... the energy of the source itself is used to lift water. We invite our readers to get acquainted with the principle of its operation and design.
It is a simple matter to install a water supply system in rural areas: an electric pump supplies water to a pressure tank, from where it is supplied to consumers. But electricity to raise water is often generated by local hydroelectric power stations by converting the pressure of a moving stream. So, in this case, is it not possible to do without the help of electricity at all, forcing only the source of water to work - a stream, a spring? This can be done using a simple hydraulic installation that operates on the principle of a kind of “swing”: draining a certain amount of water ensures that part of it rises to a certain height above the source.
The structure of a motorless automatic water lift is shown in Figure 1. Its main parts are: a water tank, a source well, pressure and air sealed tanks with valve mechanisms and connecting pipes.
Water from the spring fills the well. As soon as its level reaches the inlet of the connecting pipe 9, it begins to flow into the pressure tank. When it is filled, the level in the well will rise to the edge of pipe 8 and water will begin to flow into the air tank. The pressure of the air compressed there is transmitted through pipe 2 to the pressure tank, and since the height H] is greater than H3 by the amount of pressure loss and resistance in the pipes, water from there will rise into the water tank. The reverse flow of water from the pressure tank into the well will be prevented by the closed check valve A.
1 - air tank, 2 - air pipe, 3 - pressure tank, 4 - well, 5 - spring, 6 - water tank, 7 - discharge pipe, 8 - pressure pipe, 9 - connecting pipe; A, B - valves of the pressure tank.
The supply of water to the water tank will continue until the air tank is filled with water. At the same time, its valve mechanism will operate and the water will flow into the drain hole. Then the work cycle is repeated.
The valve mechanism of the air tank (Fig. 2) works as follows. The water entering through pipe 3, displacing air into the pressure tank, fills the air tank. Having risen in it to the upper level of the cylinder, the water will raise the float 10, which will close the valve 13, blocking access to the float glass 2. It can only get into it through the top cut off the glass - when all the air is displaced into the pressure tank. When the glass is filled, the float with its levers will open the air and drain valves, communicating the pressure tank with the atmosphere, and the air with the drain pipe 14. The valves will remain open until the tank is empty. And only when the water flows out of the cylinder 11 through a small hole 12, the float 10 will open the drain valve 13 of the glass with its lever. Float 2 will drop and close valves 8 and 15 - the tank is ready for use again.
1 - glass, 2 - float, 3 - pressure pipe, 4 - air pipe, 5, 6, 7 - float levers, 8 - air valve, 9 - lever, 10 - float, 11 - cylinder, 12 - bypass hole, 13 - valve, 14 - drain pipe, 15 - drain valve.
The performance of such a water lift depends on the flow rate of the source, the height of the water rise, and the diameter of the pipes. The existing installation with a water drop H1 = 8.2 m and a pressure H2 = 7 m has a capacity of 21,312 liters of water per day. One tank charging cycle takes 15 minutes and supplies 222 liters to the water tower, draining 507 liters from the air tower.
The installation is simple in design and can be made from readily available materials in small machine shops. Reliability, trouble-free operation and autonomy allow such a water lift to be operated far from power lines and used to create artificial reservoirs, irrigation systems, and other household needs. Thanks to the automatic mode, the system can operate for a long time without human supervision.
The diagram shows only one version of such an installation, operating on the principle of a hydraulic compressor. To obtain greater pressure, the system can be made two-stage: with a sequential rise of water in two pressure tanks. The absence of a hydraulic connection between the air and pressure tank allows the installation to operate on two sources of water, when, for example, a clean spring has a low productivity, and a fast-moving mountain stream flowing nearby is unsuitable for drinking. Then the key water can only flow into the pressure tank, and from the stream into the air tank, creating the necessary pressure in the system.
If the readers of the magazine are interested in my message, I will be happy to share my experience and new ideas with them.
L. CHEREPKOV, Gorky
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This simple experiment well illustrates how the process of absorption of liquid by a solid body, namely a paper napkin and a cotton rope, occurs.
The essence of the experience:
For the experience you will need:
- paper napkin
- two large plastic transparent cups
- cut bottle
- twine
- felt-tip pens
- scissors
Cut a strip from a paper napkin. We apply dots along its width using multi-colored felt-tip pens in one row. We also make several marks on the string with felt-tip pens of different colors, but not in a row, but lengthwise and at an equal distance from each other. For the experiment, it is better to take transparent glasses; in transparent dishes it will be more interesting for the child to observe what is happening. Pour water into glasses. We lower a strip of paper napkin into the first glass so that it slightly touches the surface of the water. We place the twine in the second glass in the same way as the napkin. In this case, the cut bottle will help you secure the upper end of the twine. All. We watch with the child how the water rises up on its own.
Water is a unique substance. Despite the prevalence and simplicity of its composition, its physical and Chemical properties are often exceptions. So, for example, at 4 o C the density of water is maximum, and when it transforms into a solid state (ice) it decreases! No other substance behaves like this.
As for this experience, at first glance, everything is obvious and simple. Water wets the paper and string, causing the materials to become wet. But it is difficult to explain why this happens.
First, let’s understand the term “wetting” itself. It is the phenomenon of interaction of a liquid with a surface solid. As always, there are two options for the development of events:
- the attraction between liquid molecules is stronger than their attraction between solid molecules. The liquid tends to reduce contact with the surface and, as a result, collects into droplets.
- The attraction between liquid molecules is weaker than their attraction between solid molecules. The liquid tends to increase the contact area and, as a result, is pressed against the surface of the body, spreading over it.
There is obviously a second option here. Spreading occurs until the liquid covers the entire surface, or until the liquid layer becomes monomolecular.
But how does water overcome the forces of gravity?
Actually, the same as in plants. Water rises up through the capillary vessels of the plant and delivers it from the roots to the leaves and fruits.
This happens due to the difference in pressure and surface tension forces of water. The surface of water entering a narrow capillary takes on a concave shape (meniscus). In this position, the liquid pressure under this meniscus becomes less than atmospheric pressure, and the water tends upward. And the thinner the capillary, the higher the water rises, trying to balance the negative pressure. If the liquid does not wet the surface, then the meniscus will be convex, and it will not rise up the capillary.
The napkin has a porous structure and consists mainly of cellulose, which, in turn, has a fibrous structure. Thus, it is not difficult for water to find capillary paths to move upward.
In twine, the processes proceed in a similar way, with the only difference being that the mechanical properties are not impaired in it, since it consists of solid threads.
