Activities

Home > Activity > Enjoy Fluid Experiments Lab. > The Bowls that won't come Apart 1

The Bowls that won't come Apart 1

Let's take a look!

Watch the video on YouTube.

What kind of experiment is this?

Experimental procedure and explanation:

  • Slip a piece of newspaper between two bowls that are pressed together and sink them into water. The bowls will not come apart, even after releasing one hand.
  • Upward buoyancy acts on the bowls, trying to take them apart. However, the two bowls are pressed onto each other from the sides by water pressure. Friction at the interface keeps the two together.
  • The reason for having a piece of newspaper between them is to make it harder for air to leak and make it harder for the two bowls to slip against each other.
[Keywords] Water depth and pressure, Buoyancy
[Related items] Water that Won't Fall, The Bowls that won't come Apart 2
[Reference] “The Wonders of Flow,” Japan Society of Mechanical Engineering, Kodansha Blue Backs pp. 38-41, pp. 42-47.
“Illustrated Fluid Dynamics Trivia,” by Ryozo Ishiwata, Natsume Publishing, pp. 18-19.
Last Update:1.27.2014