Bernoulli’s Principle and Newton’s Laws of Motion

Bernoulli’s Principle and Newton’s Laws of Motion

Bernoulli’s Principle

In fluid dynamics, Bernoulli’s principles states that an increase in the speed of the fluid corresponds to a decrease in pressure of the same fluid. Similarly, the decrease in pressure corresponds to a loss in the potential energy of the fluid. The principle is applicable to various types of fluids, which leads to Bernoulli’s equation. There are different types of Bernoulli’s equation depending on the nature of fluid in use. The principle is valid for most compressible and incompressible fluids at low Mach numbers (less than 0.3). For this principle, fluid particles are only subject to pressure and its own weight.

The principle of conservation of energy comes handy in deriving the Bernoulli’s principle. This law of conservation of energy holds that as long as a system is isolated from external factors/interference, the total amount of energy inside the system remains constant despite the energy transformation that also takes place. Therefore, the total sum of mechanical energy for a steady flow of fluid remains the same at all points in a streamline (University of Leeds, 2008). At a constant sum of kinetic and potential energy, an increase in the velocity of the fluid occurs when there is an increase in its kinetic energy and dynamic pressure, and a decrease in both its potential energy and static pressure.

Bernoulli’s principle can also be derived from Newton’s second law of motion. This is possible when a small volume of fluid flows horizontally from a high-pressure region to a region of low pressure resulting to more pressure behind the volume than in front of it (Florida International University, 2009). The pressure difference creates a net force on the volume causing it to accelerate along the streamline.

In the field of aeronautics, Bernoulli’s principle is a useful tool in calculating the lift force on an airfoil. Given the flow behavior of fluid around the airfoil, Bernoulli’s...