There is mercury in a U-shaped tube of constant cross-section, how much will the level
There is mercury in a U-shaped tube of constant cross-section, how much will the level of mercury rise in the right side of the tube if water is poured on the left side so that it forms a column 27.2 cm high?
If the water in the left knee raises the mercury in the right knee by x m, then in the left knee the mercury will drop by x m.The difference in the levels of mercury between the knees will be 2x m.And the pressure of a column of mercury with a height of 2x should be equal to the pressure of a column of water 27.2 cm high = 0.272 m. But the pressure of the column of liquid in the tube is equal to the product of the density of the liquid by the height of the column and by the acceleration of gravity g. Canceling the common factor g, we obtain the equation
13600 * 2x = 1000 * 0.272, from where
x = 0.01 m = 1 cm.