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Re: does a siphon work in vacuum?



Quoting Josip Slisko <jslisko@FISMAT1.FCFM.BUAP.MX>:
...
According to the (1), the maximum lenght of the short arm is the
barometric height of used liquid and a siphon would not work in vacuum.

According to the (2), for a very cohesive liquid, the maximum lenght can
be bigger than the barometric height and a siphon would work in vacuum.

It *is* possible to have negative pressure in a liquid. I get 600
hits from
http://www.google.com/search?q=homogeneous-nucleation+liquid+bubble

Such a state is only metastable against phase-separation. But sometimes
metastability is good enough. A "D" battery is at best metastable
against self-discharge, but people buy "D" batteries all the time.

Siphoning in a vacuum is presumably somewhat tricky, but I would
not be at all surprised to see it done. I can't think of any law
of physics that would prevent it.