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How tall trees suck water all the way to the top
After watching Derek Muller’s video explaining how very tall trees manage to suck water all the way to the top, I was quite surprised to learn that there is a universal limit to the height at which we are able to suck water through a tube.
At first, I imagined a sponge-like system that gradually sucked up the water, but in the YouTube comments, Doomer Bloomer pointed out that even a sponge will not completely absorb the water at its base. So I did the test, and indeed, a sponge placed on water will not be able to suck water all the way to the top.
Here is a quick summary of the Veritasium video below:
It is impossible to suck water through a tube beyond 10 meters; beyond that limit, the tube no longer contains air and is therefore under vacuum, then the water starts to boil.
Tall trees over 10 meters compensate for this problem with extremely thin xylem tubes that block water from turning into gas despite very strong negative pressure. In addition, for water to start boiling, at least one air molecule is needed to trigger the reaction, and these tubes do not have one.
I invite you to watch his video for more details.
How tall trees suck water all the way to the top
After watching Derek Muller’s video explaining how very tall trees manage to suck water all the way to the top, I was quite surprised to learn that there is a universal limit to the height at which we are able to suck water through a tube.
At first, I imagined a sponge-like system that gradually sucked up the water, but in the YouTube comments, Doomer Bloomer pointed out that even a sponge will not completely absorb the water at its base. So I did the test, and indeed, a sponge placed on water will not be able to suck water all the way to the top.
Here is a quick summary of the Veritasium video below:
It is impossible to suck water through a tube beyond 10 meters; beyond that limit, the tube no longer contains air and is therefore under vacuum, then the water starts to boil.
Tall trees over 10 meters compensate for this problem with extremely thin xylem tubes that block water from turning into gas despite very strong negative pressure. In addition, for water to start boiling, at least one air molecule is needed to trigger the reaction, and these tubes do not have one.
I invite you to watch his video for more details.
How tall trees suck water all the way to the top
After watching Derek Muller’s video explaining how very tall trees manage to suck water all the way to the top, I was quite surprised to learn that there is a universal limit to the height at which we are able to suck water through a tube.
At first, I imagined a sponge-like system that gradually sucked up the water, but in the YouTube comments, Doomer Bloomer pointed out that even a sponge will not completely absorb the water at its base. So I did the test, and indeed, a sponge placed on water will not be able to suck water all the way to the top.
Here is a quick summary of the Veritasium video below:
It is impossible to suck water through a tube beyond 10 meters; beyond that limit, the tube no longer contains air and is therefore under vacuum, then the water starts to boil.
Tall trees over 10 meters compensate for this problem with extremely thin xylem tubes that block water from turning into gas despite very strong negative pressure. In addition, for water to start boiling, at least one air molecule is needed to trigger the reaction, and these tubes do not have one.
I invite you to watch his video for more details.
