Researchers have used playful-looking “silly sprinklers” to help answer a long-running question in physics known as Feynman’s Sprinkler Problem, according to ScienceDaily.
The problem asks what happens when a sprinkler works in reverse, pulling water inward instead of spraying it out. By testing sprinklers with different shapes, the team found that the motion is driven by the angular momentum of the water flowing through the device.
Leif Ristroph of New York University said the experiments provide the first clear experimental answer across several sprinkler types. The paper appears in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The researchers also compared their findings with older explanations dating back to the 1880s and later work associated with Richard Feynman. They said the new results support the momentum flux theory and could help engineers better design devices that convert flowing liquids into energy, such as turbines.
