PURPOSE: To illustrate Bernoulli's principle.
DESCRIPTION: A beach ball is floated in the air stream provided by an air blower. The ball remains in the air stream even when the air stream is significantly tilted. The the skin of the ball is not smooth and the ball will rotate in the direction of the pressure gradient.
EQUIPMENT: The blower is stored on top of the general use cabinet. The beach ball is stored in the fluid mechanics cabinet. NOTE: Be sure to insert the small copper pipe into the end of the blower hose. Otherwise, the beach ball will not float in the air stream. The small copper pipe is stored in the petcock drawer with the gas line hoses.
SETUP NOTES: This demo will fail if there is a weak air flow. Check that the blower has good air pressure. Tilt the blower at an angle so that it does not blow straight up or the beach ball will not be suspended by the air stream.