Communicating Vessels

This is a well-known experiment that most persons have done in school. There are a number of
vertical tubes of different shapes which communicate at the bottom by another tube. We fill it
with water to a certain height:

Most persons would call this a system. If we add water to any vessel, there is a movement of
water (a flow of matter) until the water has leveled out. There is also a flow of potential energy
until each milligram of water on the surface has the same potential energy as any milligram on
the surface of another tube. An increase or decrease of water in any tube affects the water in all
other tubes according to well-known laws of physics.

Summary
The surface of a liquid is always horizontal.
When several vessels connect with each other, they are communicating vessels. The surface of
the liquid that fills each of the containers is the same level everywhere.
An imbalance in levels is observed if:

The containers are not interconnected or obstruction (valve) prevents the

flow of liquid.
The pressure is not the same in each container (this is the case if a container
is stopped).

If one of the containers has a very small diameter, then capillary action may significantly alter
the level of the liquid.
Click on the bottle or the valve to activate the animation.
Click on the square to make it slide.

Learning goals

To understand that the surface of water is always horizontal regardless of the

shape of the container.
To introduce the notion of atmospheric pressure.
To understand the principle of communicating vessels and how to apply the
principle to water towers or locks.