There is a story about Pascal's assistant climbing a ladder and pouring a small container of water into a tall, thin, vertical pipe inserted into a wooden barrel full of water below. The barrel burst when the water in the pipe reached about 12 m. This was all the more intriguing because the weight of added water in the tube was very small. Discuss and explain.

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Benton

Physics

30 July, 19:01

There is a story about Pascal's assistant climbing a ladder and pouring a small container of water into a tall, thin, vertical pipe inserted into a wooden barrel full of water below. The barrel burst when the water in the pipe reached about 12 m. This was all the more intriguing because the weight of added water in the tube was very small. Discuss and explain.

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Case Page · Answer 1

The pressure of water at any depth is given by

Pressure = weight density * depth

When the barrel bursts at a depth of 12 m, it has more pressure due to the vertical component. The force that acts on the wall of barrel exceeds the minimum since water pressure depends on depth/height and also the pressure is transmitted to all parts of the barrels. Unfortunately, it bursts when it has exceeded the maximum pressure.