Hero's Fountain Troubleshooting
Most recent answer: 10/22/2007
Q:
Hey!
I'm making a Hero Fountain for my physics class and for some reason its not working. Can you please suggest why this is or what I can do to make it work
I'm using fairly small glass tubes and a fairly skinny funnel. Could this be the problem?
- Scott
Barrie Ontario Canada
- Scott
Barrie Ontario Canada
A:
Scott -
In theory, it shouldn't cause a problem to use thin tubes and a small funnel, so long as you've got room to get two tubes through the base of the funnel. The most likely problem that I can think of is that your seals may not all be tight. In order for the fountain to work, the seals between the bottles' openings and the tubes must all be totally airtight. If you're not sure that they're tight, you can use putty or 'sticky tack' to seal them.
You may also need to try adding more water. It's possible that you just haven't added enough water to build up enough air pressure. Unfortunately, if these ideas don't work, I don't think I can guess what's wrong with your fountain without actually seeing it. Your best guess at that point would be to go ahead and try some different bottles, tubes, etc. and make sure that everything's set up properly according to the diagram:
Good luck!
-Tamara
In theory, it shouldn't cause a problem to use thin tubes and a small funnel, so long as you've got room to get two tubes through the base of the funnel. The most likely problem that I can think of is that your seals may not all be tight. In order for the fountain to work, the seals between the bottles' openings and the tubes must all be totally airtight. If you're not sure that they're tight, you can use putty or 'sticky tack' to seal them.
You may also need to try adding more water. It's possible that you just haven't added enough water to build up enough air pressure. Unfortunately, if these ideas don't work, I don't think I can guess what's wrong with your fountain without actually seeing it. Your best guess at that point would be to go ahead and try some different bottles, tubes, etc. and make sure that everything's set up properly according to the diagram:
Good luck!
-Tamara
(published on 10/22/2007)