Concept explainers
How much thicker the dam should be if it needs to hold back a lake twice as long as the present lake, but with the same depth.
Answer to Problem 1QAP
The dam which needs to hold back a lake which is twice as long as the present lake, is of the same thickness as before.
Explanation of Solution
Introduction:
All fluids exert a pressure on their containers. This pressure varies with the depth of the liquid in the container.
A dam built to hold the water in a lake, exerts pressure on the walls of the dam. The thickness of the dam is decided on the basis of the pressure it would experience at a particular depth.
Pressure P exerted by a liquid at a depth h is given by the expression,
Here,
Therefore, it can be seen that the pressure at a depth is proportional to the height of the liquid column above the point.
The length of the water body causes no change in the pressure exerted.
Hence, even if the lake were to be twice as long, a dam of the same thickness as before, can hold the water inside the dam.
Conclusion:
Since the pressure exerted by a liquid column at a point is dependent only on the depth of the point, density of the liquid and the acceleration of free fall at the place, no change in the thickness of the dam is required to hold the water in a lake which is twice as long as the previous, if the depth remains the same.
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Chapter 11 Solutions
COLLEGE PHYSICS,VOLUME 1
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