Why pressure decreases with increase in velocity

In summary, pressure is defined as force per unit area and can also be defined as energy per unit volume. If the area of a pipe is reduced, the velocity of the fluid increases, causing the pressure to decrease according to Bernoulli's Principle. However, the decrease in pressure is not solely due to the decrease in area, but also because the fluid is accelerating and gaining kinetic energy, which must come from a decrease in pressure. The idea that increased velocity leads to less collisions and therefore lower pressure is not logical, as the molecules still have the same average kinetic energy and spacing along the flow.
  • #1
Villa
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We know that pressure= force/area...
If the area of the pipe is reduced then the pressure must increase... But according to Bernoulli's, the pressure will decrease ... How is it?
 
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  • #2
Villa said:
We know that pressure= force/area...
If the area of the pipe is reduced then the pressure must increase... But according to Bernoulli's, the pressure will decrease ... How is it?

Force has nothingn to do with it. It really has to do with energy. A given fluid flow has a finite pool of energy, and that pool comes from the energy stored as pressure and the kinetic energy of the moving fluid. If the flow encounters a constriction, the velocity must increase due to mass conservation. That increased velocity means the flow has more kinetic energy. That energy had to come from somewhere, so the pressure has to drop to match that energy change.
 
  • #3
Pressure is defined as force per unit area..(i.e) the average force exerted by liquid molecules on the surface of the pipe per unit area... If i reduce the area then there should be more collisions and hence pressure should increase...
 
  • #4
Villa said:
Pressure is defined as force per unit area..(i.e) the average force exerted by liquid molecules on the surface of the pipe per unit area... If i reduce the area then there should be more collisions and hence pressure should increase...

Pressure can also be defined as energy per unit volume.
 
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  • #5
Villa said:
Pressure is defined as force per unit area..(i.e) the average force exerted by liquid molecules on the surface of the pipe per unit area... If i reduce the area then there should be more collisions and hence pressure should increase...
"If I reduce the area" means you are altering the piping configuration between the two cases. Bernoulli's Principle applies to one one piping configuration at a time: you are misusing it.
 
  • #6
The fluid does not just exert pressure force on the walls of the pipe. It also exerts pressure on the fluid ahead of it and behind it. If fluid is flowing in a pipe, and the pipe diameter is decreasing in the direction of flow, the fluid is accelerating in the direction of flow. In order to bring about this acceleration, the upstream force must be higher than the downstream force. This means that the upstream pressure times cross sectional area must be higher than the downstream pressure times cross sectional area. But the area decrease is not enough to provide all the force necessary. So the pressure must also be decreasing along the pipe.

Chet
 
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  • #7
I saw someone saying that " if velocity of liquid molecules increases then they will have less time to collide with the walls and so pressure decreases " ... Is this correct... It seems to be logical...
 
  • #8
Villa said:
I saw someone saying that " if velocity of liquid molecules increases then they will have less time to collide with the walls and so pressure decreases " ... Is this correct... It seems to be logical...
It doesn't seem logical to me in any sense.

Chet
 
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  • #9
Chestermiller said:
It doesn't seem logical to me in any sense.

Chet
@Chestermiller: Villa asked if it made sense that "if velocity of liquid molecules increases then they will have less time to collide with the walls and so pressure decreases ". And you said It doesn't seem logical in any sense. Why not? I would think that in static a condition like a sealed box with air in it, pressure is contributed by molecules bouncing off walls, ie: at any given instant on average, equal parts of molecules are hitting each wall in the box. In a flow condition, the trajectory of most molecules are in the direction of flow and not much bouncing off the wall. Ie: if two opposing sides of the box was removed and air is allowed to flow through, then now the #-of-molecules per unit area per unit time hitting the walls of the box would be reduced than in the static condition. Please explain how this simple argument does not make any sense.
 
  • #10
jtdrexel said:
@Chestermiller: Villa asked if it made sense that "if velocity of liquid molecules increases then they will have less time to collide with the walls and so pressure decreases ". And you said It doesn't seem logical in any sense. Why not? I would think that in static a condition like a sealed box with air in it, pressure is contributed by molecules bouncing off walls, ie: at any given instant on average, equal parts of molecules are hitting each wall in the box. In a flow condition, the trajectory of most molecules are in the direction of flow and not much bouncing off the wall. Ie: if two opposing sides of the box was removed and air is allowed to flow through, then now the #-of-molecules per unit area per unit time hitting the walls of the box would be reduced than in the static condition. Please explain how this simple argument does not make any sense.
Given a fixed temperature, the molecules have the same average kinetic energy and hence velocity relative to the flow. This means that their velocity perpendicular to the flow is unchanged. Given a fixed density, the molecules have the same spacing along the flow. How then could pressure change?

Edit: Whoops, responded to a necro-post.
 
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  • #11
jbriggs444 said:
Given a fixed temperature, the molecules have the same average kinetic energy and hence velocity relative to the flow. This means that their velocity perpendicular to the flow is unchanged. Given a fixed density, the molecules have the same spacing along the flow. How then could pressure change?

Edit: Whoops, responded to a necro-post.

Why would velocity perpendicular to flow be unchanged? My simple thought would be that there would be a preference in trajectory for molecules in a flow situation to be aligned more along the direction of flow. The only rigid surfaces in flow are perpendicular to the direction of flow.
 
  • #12
jtdrexel said:
Why would velocity perpendicular to flow be unchanged? My simple thought would be that there would be a preference in trajectory for molecules in a flow situation to be aligned more along the direction of flow. The only rigid surfaces in flow are perpendicular to the direction of flow.
Change your reference frame to one in which the flow is at rest. If temperature is fixed then, in this frame, perpendicular velocity is the same as ever.
 
  • #13
To increase the velocity, you pretty much have to press the fluid through a constriction. Since ##\rho A v## is constant, shrinking ##A## increases ##v##. The fluid kinetic energy is ##\frac{1}{2} \rho A v^2##. Clearly, this quantity increases with ##v##. This increased energy must come from the internal energy of the fluid. It is this internal energy that produces the pressure.
 
  • #14
Khashishi said:
To increase the velocity, you pretty much have to press the fluid through a constriction. Since ##\rho A v## is constant, shrinking ##A## increases ##v##. The fluid kinetic energy is ##\frac{1}{2} \rho A v^2##. Clearly, this quantity increases with ##v##. This increased energy must come from the internal energy of the fluid. It is this internal energy that produces the pressure.
You are aware that it is possible to change the pressure of a substance without changing its internal energy, correct?
 
  • #15
No, I wasn't aware. Where does the energy come from then?
 
  • #16
Khashishi said:
No, I wasn't aware. Where does the energy come from then?
For an ideal gas, you can cause the gas to do work by adding heat without changing its internal energy (isothermal expansion and compression).
 
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  • #17
jtdrexel said:
@Chestermiller: Villa asked if it made sense that "if velocity of liquid molecules increases then they will have less time to collide with the walls and so pressure decreases ". And you said It doesn't seem logical in any sense. Why not? I would think that in static a condition like a sealed box with air in it, pressure is contributed by molecules bouncing off walls, ie: at any given instant on average, equal parts of molecules are hitting each wall in the box. In a flow condition, the trajectory of most molecules are in the direction of flow and not much bouncing off the wall. Ie: if two opposing sides of the box was removed and air is allowed to flow through, then now the #-of-molecules per unit area per unit time hitting the walls of the box would be reduced than in the static condition. Please explain how this simple argument does not make any sense.
Are you saying that the pressure at a given location in a fluid is different in directions? How would you reconcile this with Pascal's principle? See the following link: https://www.princeton.edu/~asmits/Bicycle_web/pressure.html
 
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  • #18
jtdrexel said:
Villa asked if it made sense that "if velocity of liquid molecules increases then they will have less time to collide with the walls and so pressure decreases ". And you said It doesn't seem logical in any sense. Why not?
Even though the molecules are moving along the tube, there are just as many molecules entering at the start as leaving the end. So you would expect just as many collisions per second. The wall doesn't 'know' what's causing the collisions.
 

FAQ: Why pressure decreases with increase in velocity

Why does pressure decrease with an increase in velocity?

According to Bernoulli's principle, as the speed of a fluid increases, the pressure within the fluid decreases. This is because the faster-moving fluid particles have less time to collide with each other, resulting in lower pressure.

How does Bernoulli's principle explain the decrease in pressure with velocity?

Bernoulli's principle states that the total energy of a fluid remains constant along its flow. As the velocity of the fluid increases, its kinetic energy increases while its pressure energy decreases, resulting in a decrease in pressure.

Is the decrease in pressure with velocity always true?

While Bernoulli's principle is a fundamental law of fluid dynamics, it does have certain limitations. It assumes that the fluid is incompressible, non-viscous, and flows steadily. In real-world scenarios, these assumptions may not be true, resulting in deviations from the principle.

How does the shape of an object affect the decrease in pressure with velocity?

The shape of an object can greatly influence the decrease in pressure with velocity. For example, an airplane wing is designed to create a region of low pressure on its upper surface, causing lift. This is possible because of the curvature of the wing, which accelerates air over the surface, resulting in higher velocity and lower pressure.

Can the decrease in pressure with velocity be used in practical applications?

Yes, understanding the decrease in pressure with velocity is crucial in various practical applications, such as designing airplane wings, turbines, and fluid pumps. It is also used in sports like golf and baseball, where the shape of the ball and its speed can be manipulated to achieve a desired trajectory.

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