| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
More generally, drinking is partly done by sucking, and especially when drinking through a straw.
"Breathing in" involves the expansion of the lungs, with the result that air is sucked in or rather pushed in by atmospheric pressure in response to the partial vacuum created in the lungs.
It should be noted that while "sucking" seemingly causes attraction of the fluid, there is no physical basis for this: it just reduces the counter-pressure, so that a partial vacuum is created with a pressure less than the pressure in the fluid. The difference becomes strikingly apparent when it is observed that there is an upper limit to the force that can be applied (unlike with normal pressure which is theoretically unlimited). This also means that "sucking" does not work when there is no pressure at the surface of the fluid being "sucked" (for example a liquid through a straw from an otherwise sealed container).
A straw or tube (at sea level) that is longer than about 10 m (about 33 feet) will not fully raise water even if a complete vacuum is created at the top. Normal atmospheric pressure will support a column of mercuryMercury also called quicksilver is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Hg ( L. hydrargyrum and atomic number 80. A heavy, silvery, transition metal, mercury is one of only two elements that are liquid at room temperature (the othe that is 760mm in height (see barometerA barometer is an instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure. A standard mercury barometer has a glass column of about 30 inches (about 76 cm) in height, closed at one end, with an open mercury-filled reservoir at the base. Mercury in the tube adjust) or a column of water 10.3m (mercury is 13.6 times as dense as water). Beyond this height liquids must be pumped with extra positive pressure from near the bottom of the tube. A total vacuum has the minimum pressure possible, zero.
The fact that trees taller than 10 metre exist shows that water is not simply sucked up from the top. See also Transpirational pullTranspirational pull is the main phenomenon driving the flow of sap in the xylem tissues of large plants. Transpirational pull results ultimately from the evaporation of water from the surfaces of cells in the interior of the leaves. This evaporation caus.
Physicists are so disparaging of the term "suck" that they mockingly joke "there is no such thing as gravityThis article covers the physics of gravitation. See also gravity (disambiguation). Gravitation is the tendency of masses to move toward each other. The first mathematical formulation of the theory of gravitation was made by Sir Isaac Newton and proved ast: the earth sucks".
See also ImplosionImplosion is a reverse explosion that concentrates matter and energy. Buildings are colloquially described to implode when demolished through explosives, causing them to collapse on themselves. Plutonium may be imploded by spherical explosive charges to t, Vacuum cleanerA vacuum cleaner is a device that uses an air pump to suck up dust and other small particles of dirt, usually from carpeted floors. Most homes with carpeted floors possess a domestic model for cleaning. The dirt is collected by a filtering system or a cyc.
The word "suck" has a number of usages in slang:
Suck was the name of a popular website located at Suck.comcom was one of the earliest ad-supported content sites on the Internet. It featured daily editorial content on a wide variety of topics, including politics and pop-culture and was targeted at Generation X. Their tagline, and mascots, were "A fish, a barre.