Science · 6 pages · 12 min
How a siphon moves water over a hump
The downhill leg is heavier, so it hauls water up and over the crest.
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From the opening
A siphon moves water over a hump because the descending leg is a taller column than the rising leg, and that heavier column falls. The falling side lowers the pressure at the crown, and water on the short side is pushed up into the reduction. The opening covers why the longer column wins, what low pressure at the crown does, and where a vapor break stops it.
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Inside
- Why the longer column wins
- What low pressure at the crown does
- Where a vapor break stops it
- Why equal levels mean no flow
- Where the idea stops applying
- A distinction worth keeping
Sources
- A siphon driven by unequal liquid columns
- The barometric limit on a water column