# Bernoulli's principle

A flow of air into a venturi meter. The kinetic energy increases at the expense of the fluid pressure, as shown by the difference in height of the two columns of water.

In fluid dynamics, Bernoulli's principle states that for an inviscid flow, an increase in the speed of the fluid occurs simultaneously with a decrease in pressure or a decrease in the fluid's potential energy.[1][2] Bernoulli's principle is named after the Dutch-Swiss mathematician Daniel Bernoulli who published his principle in his book Hydrodynamica in 1738.[3]

Bernoulli's principle can be applied to various types of fluid flow, resulting in what is loosely denoted as Bernoulli's equation. In fact, there are different forms of the Bernoulli equation for different types of flow. The simple form of Bernoulli's principle is valid for incompressible flows (e.g. most liquid flows) and also for compressible flows (e.g. gases) moving at low Mach numbers. More advanced forms may in some cases be applied to compressible flows at higher Mach numbers (see the derivations of the Bernoulli equation).

Bernoulli's principle can be derived from the principle of conservation of energy. This states that, in a steady flow, the sum of all forms of mechanical energy in a fluid along a streamline is the same at all points on that streamline. This requires that the sum of kinetic energy and potential energy remain constant. Thus an increase in the speed of the fluid occurs proportionately with an increase in both its dynamic pressure and kinetic energy, and a decrease in its static pressure and potential energy. If the fluid is flowing out of a reservoir, the sum of all forms of energy is the same on all streamlines because in a reservoir the energy per unit volume (the sum of pressure and gravitational potential ρ g h) is the same everywhere.[4]

Bernoulli's principle can also be derived directly from Newton's 2nd law. If a small volume of fluid is flowing horizontally from a region of high pressure to a region of low pressure, then there is more pressure behind than in front. This gives a net force on the volume, accelerating it along the streamline.[5][6][7]

Fluid particles are subject only to pressure and their own weight. If a fluid is flowing horizontally and along a section of a streamline, where the speed increases it can only be because the fluid on that section has moved from a region of higher pressure to a region of lower pressure; and if its speed decreases, it can only be because it has moved from a region of lower pressure to a region of higher pressure. Consequently, within a fluid flowing horizontally, the highest speed occurs where the pressure is lowest, and the lowest speed occurs where the pressure is highest.

## Incompressible flow equation

In most flows of liquids, and of gases at low Mach number, the mass density of a fluid parcel can be considered to be constant, regardless of pressure variations in the flow. For this reason the fluid in such flows can be considered to be incompressible and these flows can be described as incompressible flow. Bernoulli performed his experiments on liquids, so his equation in its original form is valid only for incompressible flow. A common form of Bernoulli's equation, valid at any arbitrary point along a streamline, is: {{{{{safesubst:#invoke:String|len|s=:}}}}}

A



</p>

({{{3}}})

{{{{{safesubst:#invoke:String|len|s=:}}}}}

where: $v\,$ is the fluid flow speed at a point on a streamline, $g\,$ is the acceleration due to gravity, $z\,$ is the elevation of the point above a reference plane, with the positive z-direction pointing upward – so in the direction opposite to the gravitational acceleration, $p\,$ is the pressure at the chosen point, and $\rho\,$ is the density of the fluid at all points in the fluid.

For conservative force fields, Bernoulli's equation can be generalized as:[8]

${v^2 \over 2}+\Psi+{p\over\rho}=\text{constant}$

where Ψ is the force potential at the point considered on the streamline. E.g. for the Earth's gravity Ψ = gz.

The following two assumptions must be met for this Bernoulli equation to apply:[8]

• the flow must be incompressible – even though pressure varies, the density must remain constant along a streamline;
• friction by viscous forces has to be negligible.

By multiplying with the fluid density $$\rho$$, equation (A) can be rewritten as:

$\tfrac12\, \rho\, v^2\, +\, \rho\, g\, z\, +\, p\, =\, \text{constant}\,$

or:

$q\, +\, \rho\, g\, h\, =\, p_0\, +\, \rho\, g\, z\, =\, \text{constant}\,$

where: $q\, =\, \tfrac12\, \rho\, v^2$ is dynamic pressure,

$h\, =\, z\, +\, \frac{p}{\rho g}$ is the piezometric head or hydraulic head (the sum of the elevation z and the pressure head)[9][10] and

$p_0\, =\, p\, +\, q\,$ is the total pressure (the sum of the static pressure p and dynamic pressure q).[11]

The constant in the Bernoulli equation can be normalised. A common approach is in terms of total head or energy head H:

$H\, =\, z\, +\, \frac{p}{\rho g}\, +\, \frac{v^2}{2\,g}\, =\, h\, +\, \frac{v^2}{2\,g},$

The above equations suggest there is a flow speed at which pressure is zero, and at even higher speeds the pressure is negative. Most often, gases and liquids are not capable of negative absolute pressure, or even zero pressure, so clearly Bernoulli's equation ceases to be valid before zero pressure is reached. In liquids – when the pressure becomes too low – cavitation occurs. The above equations use a linear relationship between flow speed squared and pressure. At higher flow speeds in gases, or for sound waves in liquid, the changes in mass density become significant so that the assumption of constant density is invalid.

### Simplified form

In many applications of Bernoulli's equation, the change in the ρ g z term along the streamline is so small compared with the other terms it can be ignored. For example, in the case of aircraft in flight, the change in height z along a streamline is so small the ρ g z term can be omitted. This allows the above equation to be presented in the following simplified form:

$p + q = p_0\,$

where p0 is called total pressure, and q is dynamic pressure.[12] Many authors refer to the pressure p as static pressure to distinguish it from total pressure p0 and dynamic pressure q. In Aerodynamics, L.J. Clancy writes: "To distinguish it from the total and dynamic pressures, the actual pressure of the fluid, which is associated not with its motion but with its state, is often referred to as the static pressure, but where the term pressure alone is used it refers to this static pressure."[13]

The simplified form of Bernoulli's equation can be summarized in the following memorable word equation:

static pressure + dynamic pressure = total pressure[13]

Every point in a steadily flowing fluid, regardless of the fluid speed at that point, has its own unique static pressure p and dynamic pressure q. Their sum p + q is defined to be the total pressure p0. The significance of Bernoulli's principle can now be summarized as total pressure is constant along a streamline.

If the fluid flow is irrotational, the total pressure on every streamline is the same and Bernoulli's principle can be summarized as total pressure is constant everywhere in the fluid flow.[14] It is reasonable to assume that irrotational flow exists in any situation where a large body of fluid is flowing past a solid body. Examples are aircraft in flight, and ships moving in open bodies of water. However, it is important to remember that Bernoulli's principle does not apply in the boundary layer or in fluid flow through long pipes.

If the fluid flow at some point along a stream line is brought to rest, this point is called a stagnation point, and at this point the total pressure is equal to the stagnation pressure.

### Applicability of incompressible flow equation to flow of gases

Bernoulli's equation is sometimes valid for the flow of gases: provided that there is no transfer of kinetic or potential energy from the gas flow to the compression or expansion of the gas. If both the gas pressure and volume change simultaneously, then work will be done on or by the gas. In this case, Bernoulli's equation – in its incompressible flow form – can not be assumed to be valid. However if the gas process is entirely isobaric, or isochoric, then no work is done on or by the gas, (so the simple energy balance is not upset). According to the gas law, an isobaric or isochoric process is ordinarily the only way to ensure constant density in a gas. Also the gas density will be proportional to the ratio of pressure and absolute temperature, however this ratio will vary upon compression or expansion, no matter what non-zero quantity of heat is added or removed. The only exception is if the net heat transfer is zero, as in a complete thermodynamic cycle, or in an individual isentropic (frictionless adiabatic) process, and even then this reversible process must be reversed, to restore the gas to the original pressure and specific volume, and thus density. Only then is the original, unmodified Bernoulli equation applicable. In this case the equation can be used if the flow speed of the gas is sufficiently below the speed of sound, such that the variation in density of the gas (due to this effect) along each streamline can be ignored. Adiabatic flow at less than Mach 0.3 is generally considered to be slow enough.

The Bernoulli equation for unsteady potential flow is used in the theory of ocean surface waves and acoustics.

For an irrotational flow, the flow velocity can be described as the gradient φ of a velocity potential φ. In that case, and for a constant density ρ, the momentum equations of the Euler equations can be integrated to:[15]

$\frac{\partial \varphi}{\partial t} + \tfrac{1}{2} v^2 + \frac{p}{\rho} + gz = f(t),$

which is a Bernoulli equation valid also for unsteady – or time dependent – flows. Here ∂φ/∂t denotes the partial derivative of the velocity potential φ with respect to time t, and v = |∇φ| is the flow speed. The function f(t) depends only on time and not on position in the fluid. As a result, the Bernoulli equation at some moment t does not only apply along a certain streamline, but in the whole fluid domain. This is also true for the special case of a steady irrotational flow, in which case f is a constant.[15]

Further f(t) can be made equal to zero by incorporating it into the velocity potential using the transformation

$\Phi=\varphi-\int_{t_0}^t f(\tau)\, \operatorname{d}\tau,\text{ resulting in }\frac{\partial \Phi}{\partial t} + \tfrac{1}{2} v^2 + \frac{p}{\rho} + gz=0.$

Note that the relation of the potential to the flow velocity is unaffected by this transformation: ∇Φ = ∇φ.

The Bernoulli equation for unsteady potential flow also appears to play a central role in Luke's variational principle, a variational description of free-surface flows using the Lagrangian (not to be confused with Lagrangian coordinates).

## Compressible flow equation

Bernoulli developed his principle from his observations on liquids, and his equation is applicable only to incompressible fluids, and compressible fluids up to approximately Mach number 0.3.[16] It is possible to use the fundamental principles of physics to develop similar equations applicable to compressible fluids. There are numerous equations, each tailored for a particular application, but all are analogous to Bernoulli's equation and all rely on nothing more than the fundamental principles of physics such as Newton's laws of motion or the first law of thermodynamics.

### Compressible flow in fluid dynamics

For a compressible fluid, with a barotropic equation of state, and under the action of conservative forces,

$\frac {v^2}{2}+ \int_{p_1}^p \frac {d\tilde{p}}{\rho(\tilde{p})}\ + \Psi = \text{constant}$[17]   (constant along a streamline)

where:

p is the pressure
ρ is the density
v is the flow speed
Ψ is the potential associated with the conservative force field, often the gravitational potential

In engineering situations, elevations are generally small compared to the size of the Earth, and the time scales of fluid flow are small enough to consider the equation of state as adiabatic. In this case, the above equation becomes

$\frac {v^2}{2}+ gz+\left(\frac {\gamma}{\gamma-1}\right)\frac {p}{\rho} = \text{constant}$[18]   (constant along a streamline)

where, in addition to the terms listed above:

γ is the ratio of the specific heats of the fluid
g is the acceleration due to gravity
z is the elevation of the point above a reference plane

In many applications of compressible flow, changes in elevation are negligible compared to the other terms, so the term gz can be omitted. A very useful form of the equation is then:

$\frac {v^2}{2}+\left( \frac {\gamma}{\gamma-1}\right)\frac {p}{\rho} = \left(\frac {\gamma}{\gamma-1}\right)\frac {p_0}{\rho_0}$

where:

p0 is the total pressure
ρ0 is the total density

### Compressible flow in thermodynamics

Another useful form of the equation, suitable for use in thermodynamics and for (quasi) steady flow, is:[2][19]

${v^2 \over 2} + \Psi + w =\text{constant}$[20]

Here w is the enthalpy per unit mass, which is also often written as h (not to be confused with "head" or "height").

Note that $$w = \epsilon + \frac{p}{\rho}$$ where ε is the thermodynamic energy per unit mass, also known as the specific internal energy.

The constant on the right hand side is often called the Bernoulli constant and denoted b. For steady inviscid adiabatic flow with no additional sources or sinks of energy, b is constant along any given streamline. More generally, when b may vary along streamlines, it still proves a useful parameter, related to the "head" of the fluid (see below).

When the change in Ψ can be ignored, a very useful form of this equation is:

${v^2 \over 2}+ w = w_0$

where w0 is total enthalpy. For a calorically perfect gas such as an ideal gas, the enthalpy is directly proportional to the temperature, and this leads to the concept of the total (or stagnation) temperature.

When shock waves are present, in a reference frame in which the shock is stationary and the flow is steady, many of the parameters in the Bernoulli equation suffer abrupt changes in passing through the shock. The Bernoulli parameter itself, however, remains unaffected. An exception to this rule is radiative shocks, which violate the assumptions leading to the Bernoulli equation, namely the lack of additional sinks or sources of energy.

## Real-world application

Condensation visible over the upper surface of a wing caused by the fall in temperature accompanying the fall in pressure, both due to acceleration of the air.

In modern everyday life there are many observations that can be successfully explained by application of Bernoulli's principle, even though no real fluid is entirely inviscid[24] and a small viscosity often has a large effect on the flow.

• Bernoulli's principle can be used to calculate the lift force on an airfoil if the behaviour of the fluid flow in the vicinity of the foil is known. For example, if the air flowing past the top surface of an aircraft wing is moving faster than the air flowing past the bottom surface, then Bernoulli's principle implies that the pressure on the surfaces of the wing will be lower above than below. This pressure difference results in an upwards lift force.[nb 1][25] Whenever the distribution of speed past the top and bottom surfaces of a wing is known, the lift forces can be calculated (to a good approximation) using Bernoulli's equations[26] – established by Bernoulli over a century before the first man-made wings were used for the purpose of flight. Bernoulli's principle does not explain why the air flows faster past the top of the wing and slower past the underside. To understand why, it is helpful to understand circulation, the Kutta condition, and the Kutta–Joukowski theorem.
• The carburetor used in many reciprocating engines contains a venturi to create a region of low pressure to draw fuel into the carburetor and mix it thoroughly with the incoming air. The low pressure in the throat of a venturi can be explained by Bernoulli's principle; in the narrow throat, the air is moving at its fastest speed and therefore it is at its lowest pressure.
• The flow speed of a fluid can be measured using a device such as a Venturi meter or an orifice plate, which can be placed into a pipeline to reduce the diameter of the flow. For a horizontal device, the continuity equation shows that for an incompressible fluid, the reduction in diameter will cause an increase in the fluid flow speed. Subsequently Bernoulli's principle then shows that there must be a decrease in the pressure in the reduced diameter region. This phenomenon is known as the Venturi effect.
• The maximum possible drain rate for a tank with a hole or tap at the base can be calculated directly from Bernoulli's equation, and is found to be proportional to the square root of the height of the fluid in the tank. This is Torricelli's law, showing that Torricelli's law is compatible with Bernoulli's principle. Viscosity lowers this drain rate. This is reflected in the discharge coefficient, which is a function of the Reynolds number and the shape of the orifice.[28]
• In open-channel hydraulics, a detailed analysis of the Bernoulli theorem and its extension were recently (2009) developed.[29] It was proved that the depth-averaged specific energy reaches a minimum in converging accelerating free-surface flow over weirs and flumes (also[30][31]). Further, in general, a channel control with minimum specific energy in curvilinear flow is not isolated from water waves, as customary state in open-channel hydraulics.
• The Bernoulli grip relies on this principle to create a non-contact adhesive force between a surface and the gripper.

## Misunderstandings about the generation of lift

Many explanations for the generation of lift (on airfoils, propeller blades, etc.) can be found; but some of these explanations can be misleading, and some are false.[32] This has been a source of heated discussion over the years. In particular, there has been debate about whether lift is best explained by Bernoulli's principle or Newton's laws of motion. Modern writings agree that both Bernoulli's principle and Newton's laws are relevant and either can be used to correctly describe lift.[33][34][35]

Several of these explanations use the Bernoulli principle to connect the flow kinematics to the flow-induced pressures. In cases of incorrect (or partially correct) explanations relying on the Bernoulli principle, the errors generally occur in the assumptions on the flow kinematics and how these are produced. It is not the Bernoulli principle itself that is questioned because this principle is well established.[36][37][38][39]

## Misleading demonstrations of Bernoulli's principle

There are several common classroom demonstrations that are sometimes incorrectly explained using Bernoulli's principle.[40] One involves holding a piece of paper horizontally so that it droops downward and then blowing over the top of it. As the demonstrator blows over the paper, the paper rises. It is then asserted that this is because "faster moving air has lower pressure".[41][42][43]

One problem with this explanation can be seen by blowing along the bottom of the paper - were the deflection due simply to faster moving air one would expect the paper to deflect downward, but the paper deflects upward regardless of whether the faster moving air is on the top or the bottom.[44] Another problem is that when the air leaves the demonstrator's mouth it has the same pressure as the surrounding air;[45] the air does not have lower pressure just because it is moving; in the demonstration, the static pressure of the air leaving the demonstrator's mouth is equal to the pressure of the surrounding air.[46][47] A third problem is that it is false to make a connection between the flow on the two sides of the paper using Bernoulli’s equation since the air above and below are different flow fields and Bernoulli's principle only applies within a flow field.[48][49][50][51]

When stating Bernoulli's principle, one must be careful, lest one draw wrong conclusions.[52] What Bernoulli's principle actually says is that within a flow of constant energy, when fluid flows through a region of lower pressure it speeds up and vice versa.[53] Thus, Bernoulli's principle concerns itself with changes in speed and changes in pressure within a flow field. It cannot be used to compare different flow fields.

A correct explanation of why the paper rises would observe that the plume follows the curve of the paper and that a curved streamline will develop a pressure gradient perpendicular to the direction of flow, with the lower pressure on the inside of the curve.[54][55] The reduction in pressure acting on the top surface of the piece of paper causes the paper to rise. The decrease in pressure is associated with an increase in speed in accordance with Bernoulli's principle. The air on top is not merely just going faster than the motionless air below, it actually speeds up.[56][57][58]

Other common classroom demonstrations, such as blowing between two suspended spheres, or suspending a ball in an airstream are sometimes explained in a similarly misleading manner by saying "faster moving air has lower pressure".[59][60][61][62]

## References

1. Clancy, L.J., Aerodynamics, Chapter 3.
2. Batchelor, G.K. (1967), Section 3.5, pp. 156–64.
3. "Hydrodynamica". Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
4. Streeter, V.L., Fluid Mechanics, Example 3.5, McGraw–Hill Inc. (1966), New York.
5. "If the particle is in a region of varying pressure (a non-vanishing pressure gradient in the x-direction) and if the particle has a finite size l, then the front of the particle will be ‘seeing’ a different pressure from the rear. More precisely, if the pressure drops in the x-direction (dp/dx < 0) the pressure at the rear is higher than at the front and the particle experiences a (positive) net force. According to Newton’s second law, this force causes an acceleration and the particle’s velocity increases as it moves along the streamline... Bernoulli’s equation describes this mathematically (see the complete derivation in the appendix)."Babinsky, Holger (November 2003), "How do wings work?", Physics Education
6. "Acceleration of air is caused by pressure gradients. Air is accelerated in direction of the velocity if the pressure goes down. Thus the decrease of pressure is the cause of a higher velocity." Weltner, Klaus; Ingelman-Sundberg, Martin, Misinterpretations of Bernoulli's Law
7. " The idea is that as the parcel moves along, following a streamline, as it moves into an area of higher pressure there will be higher pressure ahead (higher than the pressure behind) and this will exert a force on the parcel, slowing it down. Conversely if the parcel is moving into a region of lower pressure, there will be an higher pressure behind it (higher than the pressure ahead), speeding it up. As always, any unbalanced force will cause a change in momentum (and velocity), as required by Newton’s laws of motion." See How It Flies John S. Denker http://www.av8n.com/how/htm/airfoils.html
8. Batchelor, G.K. (1967), §5.1, p. 265.
9. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=book }}, 410 pages. See pp. 43–44.
10. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=book }}, 650 pages. See p. 22.
11. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=book }}
12. "Bernoulli's Equation". NASA Glenn Research Center. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
13. Clancy, L.J., Aerodynamics, Section 3.5.
14. Clancy, L.J. Aerodynamics, Equation 3.12
15. Batchelor, G.K. (1967), p. 383
16. White, Frank M. Fluid Mechanics, 6e. McGraw-Hill International Edition. p. 602.
17. Clarke C. and Carswell B., Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics
18. Clancy, L.J., Aerodynamics, Section 3.11
19. Landau & Lifshitz (1987, §5)
20. Van Wylen, G.J., and Sonntag, R.E., (1965), Fundamentals of Classical Thermodynamics, Section 5.9, John Wiley and Sons Inc., New York
21. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=book }}, Vol. 2, §40–3, pp. 40–6 – 40–9.
22. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=book }}, p. 138.
23. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=book }}, Vol. 1, §14–3, p. 14–4.
24. Physics Today, May 1010, "The Nearly Perfect Fermi Gas", by John E. Thomas, p 34.
25. Resnick, R. and Halliday, D. (1960), Physics, Section 18–5, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York ("[streamlines] are closer together above the wing than they are below so that Bernoulli's principle predicts the observed upward dynamic lift.")
26. {{#invoke:Citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=journal }} "The resultant force is determined by integrating the surface-pressure distribution over the surface area of the airfoil."
27. Clancy, L.J., Aerodynamics, Section 3.8
28. Mechanical Engineering Reference Manual Ninth Edition
29. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=book }}
30. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=book }}
31. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=book }}
32. Glenn Research Center (2006-03-15). "Incorrect Lift Theory". NASA. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
33. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=book }}
34. Ison, David. Bernoulli Or Newton: Who's Right About Lift? Retrieved on 2009-11-26
35. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=book }} Section 2.4.
36. Batchelor, G.K. (1967). Sections 3.5 and 5.1
37. Lamb, H. (1994) §17–§29
38. Weltner, Klaus; Ingelman-Sundberg, Martin. "Physics of Flight – reviewed". "The conventional explanation of aerodynamical lift based on Bernoulli’s law and velocity differences mixes up cause and effect. The faster flow at the upper side of the wing is the consequence of low pressure and not its cause."
39. "Bernoulli's law and experiments attributed to it are fascinating. Unfortunately some of these experiments are explained erroneously..." Misinterpretations of Bernoulli's Law Weltner, Klaus and Ingelman-Sundberg, Martin Department of Physics, University Frankfurt http://www-stud.rbi.informatik.uni-frankfurt.de/~plass/MIS/mis6.html
40. "This occurs because of Bernoulli’s principle — fast-moving air has lower pressure than non-moving air." Make Magazine http://makeprojects.com/Project/Origami-Flying-Disk/327/1
41. " Faster-moving fluid, lower pressure. ... When the demonstrator holds the paper in front of his mouth and blows across the top, he is creating an area of faster-moving air." University of Minnesota School of Physics and Astronomy http://www.physics.umn.edu/outreach/pforce/circus/Bernoulli.html
42. "Bernoulli's Principle states that faster moving air has lower pressure... You can demonstrate Bernoulli's Principle by blowing over a piece of paper held horizontally across your lips." http://www.tallshipschannelislands.com/PDFs/Educational_Packet.pdf
43. "If the lift in figure A were caused by "Bernoulli principle," then the paper in figure B should droop further when air is blown beneath it. However, as shown, it raises when the upward pressure gradient in downward-curving flow adds to atmospheric pressure at the paper lower surface." Gale M. Craig PHYSICAL PRINCIPLES OF WINGED FLIGHT http://www.regenpress.com/aerodynamics.pdf
44. "In fact, the pressure in the air blown out of the lungs is equal to that of the surrounding air..." Babinsky http://iopscience.iop.org/0031-9120/38/6/001/pdf/pe3_6_001.pdf
45. "...air does not have a reduced lateral pressure (or static pressure...) simply because it is caused to move, the static pressure of free air does not decrease as the speed of the air increases, it misunderstanding Bernoulli's principle to suggest that this is what it tells us, and the behavior of the curved paper is explained by other reasoning than Bernoulli's principle." Peter Eastwell Bernoulli? Perhaps, but What About Viscosity? The Science Education Review, 6(1) 2007 http://www.scienceeducationreview.com/open_access/eastwell-bernoulli.pdf
46. "Make a strip of writing paper about 5 cm X 25 cm. Hold it in front of your lips so that it hangs out and down making a convex upward surface. When you blow across the top of the paper, it rises. Many books attribute this to the lowering of the air pressure on top solely to the Bernoulli effect. Now use your fingers to form the paper into a curve that it is slightly concave upward along its whole length and again blow along the top of this strip. The paper now bends downward...an often-cited experiment which is usually taken as demonstrating the common explanation of lift does not do so..." Jef Raskin Coanda Effect: Understanding Why Wings Work http://karmak.org/archive/2003/02/coanda_effect.html
47. "Blowing over a piece of paper does not demonstrate Bernoulli’s equation. While it is true that a curved paper lifts when flow is applied on one side, this is not because air is moving at different speeds on the two sides... It is false to make a connection between the flow on the two sides of the paper using Bernoulli’s equation." Holger Babinsky How Do Wings Work Physics Education 38(6) http://iopscience.iop.org/0031-9120/38/6/001/pdf/pe3_6_001.pdf
48. "An explanation based on Bernoulli’s principle is not applicable to this situation, because this principle has nothing to say about the interaction of air masses having different speeds... Also, while Bernoulli’s principle allows us to compare fluid speeds and pressures along a single streamline and... along two different streamlines that originate under identical fluid conditions, using Bernoulli’s principle to compare the air above and below the curved paper in Figure 1 is nonsensical; in this case, there aren’t any streamlines at all below the paper!" Peter Eastwell Bernoulli? Perhaps, but What About Viscosity? The Science Education Review 6(1) 2007 http://www.scienceeducationreview.com/open_access/eastwell-bernoulli.pdf
49. "The well-known demonstration of the phenomenon of lift by means of lifting a page cantilevered in one’s hand by blowing horizontally along it is probably more a demonstration of the forces inherent in the Coanda effect than a demonstration of Bernoulli’s law; for, here, an air jet issues from the mouth and attaches to a curved (and, in this case pliable) surface. The upper edge is a complicated vortex-laden mixing layer and the distant flow is quiescent, so that Bernoulli’s law is hardly applicable." David Auerbach Why Aircreft Fly European Journal of Physics Vol 21 p 289 http://iopscience.iop.org/0143-0807/21/4/302/pdf/0143-0807_21_4_302.pdf
50. "Millions of children in science classes are being asked to blow over curved pieces of paper and observe that the paper "lifts"... They are then asked to believe that Bernoulli's theorem is responsible... Unfortunately, the "dynamic lift" involved...is not properly explained by Bernoulli's theorem." Norman F. Smith "Bernoulli and Newton in Fluid Mechanics" The Physics Teacher Nov 1972
51. "Bernoulli’s principle is very easy to understand provided the principle is correctly stated. However, we must be careful, because seemingly-small changes in the wording can lead to completely wrong conclusions." See How It Flies John S. Denker http://www.av8n.com/how/htm/airfoils.html#sec-bernoulli
52. "A complete statement of Bernoulli's Theorem is as follows: "In a flow where no energy is being added or taken away, the sum of its various energies is a constant: consequently where the velocity increasees the pressure decreases and vice versa."" Norman F Smith Bernoulli, Newton and Dynamic Lift Part I School Science and Mathematics Vol 73 Issue 3 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1949-8594.1973.tb08998.x/pdf
53. "...if a streamline is curved, there must be a pressure gradient across the streamline, with the pressure increasing in the direction away from the centre of curvature." Babinsky http://iopscience.iop.org/0031-9120/38/6/001/pdf/pe3_6_001.pdf
54. "The curved paper turns the stream of air downward, and this action produces the lift reaction that lifts the paper." Norman F. Smith Bernoulli, Newton, and Dynamic Lift Part II School Science and Mathematics vol 73 Issue 4 pg 333 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1949-8594.1973.tb09040.x/pdf
55. "The curved surface of the tongue creates unequal air pressure and a lifting action. ... Lift is caused by air moving over a curved surface." AERONAUTICS An Educator’s Guide with Activities in Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education by NASA pg 26 http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/58152main_Aeronautics.Educator.pdf
56. "As an example, take the misleading experiment most often used to "demonstrate" Bernoulli's principle. Hold a piece of piece of paper so that it curves over your finger, then blow across the top. The paper will rise. However most people do not realize that the paper would NOT rise if it was flat, even though you are blowing air across the top of it at a furious rate. Bernoulli's principle does not apply directly in this case. This is because the air on the two sides of the paper did not start out from the same source. The air on the bottom is ambient air from the room, but the air on the top came from your mouth where you actually increased its speed without decreasing its pressure by forcing it out of your mouth. As a result the air on both sides of the flat paper actually has the same pressure, even though the air on the top is moving faster. The reason that a curved piece of paper does rise is that the air from your mouth speeds up even more as it follows the curve of the paper, which in turn lowers the pressure according to Bernoulli." From The Aeronautics File By Max Feil http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:nutfrrTXLkMJ:www.mat.uc.pt/~pedro/ncientificos/artigos/aeronauticsfile1.ps+&cd=29&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
57. "Some people blow over a sheet of paper to demonstrate that the accelerated air over the sheet results in a lower pressure. They are wrong with their explanation. The sheet of paper goes up because it deflects the air, by the Coanda effect, and that deflection is the cause of the force lifting the sheet. To prove they are wrong I use the following experiment: If the sheet of paper is pre bend the other way by first rolling it, and if you blow over it than, it goes down. This is because the air is deflected the other way. Airspeed is still higher above the sheet, so that is not causing the lower pressure." Pim Geurts. sailtheory.com http://www.sailtheory.com/experiments.html
58. "Aysmmetrical flow (not Bernoulli's theorem) also explains lift on the ping-pong ball or beach ball that floats so mysteriously in the tilted vacuum cleaner exhaust..." Norman F. Smith, Bernoulli and Newton in Fluid Mechanics" The Physics Teacher Nov 1972 p 455
59. "Bernoulli’s theorem is often obscured by demonstrations involving non-Bernoulli forces. For example, a ball may be supported on an upward jet of air or water, because any fluid (the air and water) has viscosity, which retards the slippage of one part of the fluid moving past another part of the fluid." The Bernoulli Conundrum Robert P. Bauman Professor of Physics Emeritus University of Alabama at Birmingham http://www.introphysics.info/Papers/BernoulliConundrumWS.pdf
60. "In a demonstration sometimes wrongly described as showing lift due to pressure reduction in moving air or pressure reduction due to flow path restriction, a ball or balloon is suspended by a jet of air." Gale M. Craig PHYSICAL PRINCIPLES OF WINGED FLIGHT http://www.regenpress.com/aerodynamics.pdf
61. "A second example is the confinement of a ping-pong ball in the vertical exhaust from a hair dryer. We are told that this is a demonstration of Bernoulli's principle. But, we now know that the exhaust does not have a lower value of ps. Again, it is momentum transfer that keeps the ball in the airflow. When the ball gets near the edge of the exhaust there is an asymmetric flow around the ball, which pushes it away from the edge of the flow. The same is true when one blows between two ping-pong balls hanging on strings." Anderson & Eberhardt The Newtonian Description of Lift on a Wing http://lss.fnal.gov/archive/2001/pub/Pub-01-036-E.pdf

## Notes

1. Clancy, L.J., Aerodynamics, Section 5.5 ("When a stream of air flows past an airfoil, there are local changes in flow speed round the airfoil, and consequently changes in static pressure, in accordance with Bernoulli's Theorem. The distribution of pressure determines the lift, pitching moment and form drag of the airfoil, and the position of its centre of pressure.")

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