if i take a fluid in a container open to the atmosphere and raise its height what happens to the hydrostatic pressure? I thought it would decrease because pressure decreases with altitude but the answer says that it would increase.
I just assumed it would be the opposite of measuring the pressure under water which causes pressure to increase
Perhaps you are accelerating it upward?
no the explaination had something to do with gravitational potential energy, which seems to contradict the pressure at altitude arguement
Great question! When you have a fluid in a container open to the atmosphere and you raise its height, the hydrostatic pressure actually increases, contrary to what you might expect.
To understand why this happens, let's consider the concept of hydrostatic pressure. Hydrostatic pressure is the pressure exerted by a fluid due to the weight of the fluid column above it. It depends on the density of the fluid, the acceleration due to gravity, and the height of the fluid column.
When you raise the height of the fluid column, for example by increasing the level of the fluid in the container, you are increasing the weight of the fluid above a specific point. This leads to an increase in hydrostatic pressure at that point.
It's important to note that pressure decreases with altitude in the Earth's atmosphere because the density of the air decreases as you move higher up. However, when dealing with a fluid confined in a container, the density and weight of the fluid remain constant, causing an increase in pressure with increased height.
So, in essence, raising the height of the fluid column in a container will increase the hydrostatic pressure because of the added weight of the fluid above that point. This is different from the scenario of measuring pressure underwater, where the pressure increases as you descend deeper due to the weight of the water above.
I hope this helps clarify the concept! If you have any further questions, feel free to ask.