Bernoullis

Ball Levitation Experiment

Final Report

Team Name
Reynolds Buds

Team Members
Rachel Pierce rap5519@psu.edu
Sujay Ganage slg5543@psu.edu
Naman Kabra nqk5170@psu.edu
Peyman Norouzi pzn5052@psu.edu

Topic Selection
Our team will be demonstrating the Bernoullis Principle of Fluid Dynamics through our
experimental setup.

Introduction
We are performing the Bernoullis Ball Levitation experiment to demonstrate Bernoullis fluid
flow principle. Our group first became interested in the topic during class when we realized that
Bernoullis principle is all around us and too often goes unnoticed. Whether it is a baseball player
gripping the seams of a ball to make the perfect spin or the wings of an airplane during take-off, we
consistently glance over the beauty of this phenomenon. We wanted to create a demonstration that no
one could ignore, which is how we came up with the Bernoullis Ball Levitation experiment. In this
experiment a ball is placed at the wide mouth of a funnel with air flowing outward. Due to the pressure
difference in the funnel, the higher pressure underneath the ball causes it to levitate despite the air
flowing in the opposite direction. This phenomenon is truly amazing because it seems to defy the laws
of gravity before our very own eyes.

Experimental Setup and Procedure
The main objective of this experiment was to find
pressure at different points around the ping pong ball in
order to qualitatively analyze how high pressure counteracts
against gravity resulting in levitation of the ball. The team
conducted the Bernoulli Ball Levitation experiment in
The Learning Factory. The experiment consisted of the
following materials:
1. Funnel
2. Ping Pong Ball
3. Flexible Tube
4. Compressor
5. 13-gallon trash bag Figure 1: Experimental Setup using
materials listed.
 In addition to the apparatus mentioned above, we used basic laboratory equipment such as duct tape,
Vernier calipers, and a pair of pliers. The ping pong ball was placed inside the funnel attached to the
compressor through a rubber tube. The experiment was performed by switching on the compressor and
inverting the funnel. Several measurements such as the diameter of the ball, height of the ball away from
the funnel surface and diameter of the funnel were recorded.
The volumetric flow rate of the air was found by enclosing a 13 gallon (0.0492 m^3) trash bag around
the neck of the wide end of the funnel and recording the time taken to fill up the trash bag with the fluid.
In order to minimize experimental error, the time taken was recorded five times, the mean of which was
used for calculations as shown below.

Repetition 1 2 3 4 5

Time (Sec) 26.75 28 26.88 24.08 26.46

Tmean = 26.434 seconds

The surface area through which air flows was calculated by subtracting the cross sectional area at the
midpoint of the ball from the surface area of the funnel where the ball levitates. Intuitively, we assumed
that the largest flow area was at the end of the pingpong ball, which is approximately equal to the cross
section of the funnel at that point. The smallest area is in the middle of the ping pong ball and it is equal
to cross sectional area of the ball subtracted from the cross sectional area of the funnel.
An increase in this area would decrease the air flow rate, consequently causing an increase in pressure.
Then, the Bernoullis equation was used to find the pressure difference between two points - the end and
the center of the ball.

Results and Discussion
As per the procedure described above, the calculations of volumetric flow rate, flow velocities
and pressure difference are shown below:
 The pressure difference shows that pressure at point 1 (end of the ball) is larger than pressure at
point 2 (mid-point of the ball). Higher pressure below the ball exerts an upward force equal to the
weight of the ball causing it to levitate. Intuitively, the air flowing around the spheres sides would
experience creep flow. An increase in pressure away from the nozzle and around the sides of the ball
proves that pressure increases where air flow rate decreases, representing the Bernoullis principle with
this mind-blowing experiment.

References

HyperPhysics. Bernoulli Equation. Web. December 6, 2016.
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/pber.html

MIT. Flow Past A Sphere II. Web. December 9, 2016.

https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/earth-atmospheric-and-planetary-sciences/12-090-introduction-to-fluid-
motions-sediment-transport-and-current-generated-sedimentary-structures-fall-2006/course-
textbook/ch3.pdf