How Does A Drinking Straw Work - Tec-Science

07/08/2020 How does a drinking straw work?
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This article provides answers to the following questions, among others:
How does drinking with a straw work from a physical point of view?
What role does ambient pressure play?
Why is there a maximum suction height?
What does the maximum suction lift depend on?
Why does the immersion depth have no in uence on the maximum suction lift?
1 Indroduction
2 Working principle
3 Maximum suction lift
4 In uence of immersion depth
Indroduction
Drinking out of a straw sounds quite simple at rst. One end of the straw is placed in
a water- lled glass and at the other end the water is sucked up into the mouth. One
might think that such a drinking straw could in principle be of any length. In order to
overcome any large di erences in height, one would only have to suck on it
powerfully enough. Practice shows, however, that with increasing height it becomes
more and more di cult to get the liquid through the straw. Eventually it will no
longer be possible to drink water from such a drinking straw from a height of about
10 metres. Even the most powerful vacuum pump in the world would not be able to
pump water to such a height!
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07/08/2020 How does a drinking straw work? - tec-science
possible to drink from a straw (this also applies to suction pumps). The principle of
drinking with a straw and the operation of suction pumps and the associated limited
suction lift are explained in more detail in this article.
Figure: Drinking straw in a glass with water
Working principle
First imagine a glass of water. In the glass there is a round plate which lies directly on
the surface of the water. In the middle of the plate is a hole through which a drinking
straw is led into the water. If the plate is pressed downwards, the water is pressed
upwards through the straw.
Figure: Drinking Straw Principle
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0:00 / 0:04
Animation: Drinking Straw Principle
In the same way the ambient pressure on the water surface is able to push the water
upwards through the drinking straw. However, if the straw is simply placed in the
water, then the force with which the external ambient pressure tries to push the
water upwards (as in the example above with the plate) is as great as the force with
which the internal ambient pressure inside the straw pushes the water downwards.
If the water is to be lifted, the air pressure inside the straw must be lowered
compared to the external atmospheric pressure. This creates a lower counterforce so
that the force of the external ambient pressure is able to push the water upwards.
The lowering of the internal air pressure in the drinking straw is done by sucking at
its opening, so that the air particles inside are sucked o . This causes a negative
pressure inside the straw. In this way, the water is pushed upwards by the greater
external ambient pressure against the lower pressure inside the drinking straw.
Figure: Pressing up the water by the ambient pressure
Thus it is the
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drinking straw to be pushed upwards. Creating the negative pressure in the drinking
straw is only a means to an end, so to speak. If, on the other hand, no ambient
pressure existed (vacuum), the water could no longer be pushed upwards by any air
particles. For this reason it is not possible to drink a glass of water with the help of a
straw even in free space (apart from the fact that water would immediately become
gaseous anyway due to the vacuum)!
Maximum suction lift

As already mentioned in the introductory section, from a certain height to be
overcome between the surface of the water and the mouth, one will notice that it is
no longer possible to drink from the drinking straw, no matter how hard one tries. In
theory, this maximum suction lift is around 10 m for water. This does not have to do
with a too weakly developed mouth musculature but has a natural physical cause.
Even the most powerful suction pump in the world would not be able to overcome a
height di erence of more than 10 metres if a perfect vacuum were created. This
maximum suction height will be derived mathematically in the following.
The force \(F_p\) with which the water can be e ectively pushed upwards is the
di erence between the forces acting at the lower end (\(F_0\)) and the upper end of
the water column (\(F_1\)). The water column is the water in the straw relative to the
water level in the glass. At this level, the ambient pressure \(p_0\) also acts in the
water itself (since there is no hydrostatic pressure at this point). The immersion
depth of the drinking straw plays no role (more about this later).
Figure: Acting forces on water column
The resultant upward force \(F_p\) results from the di erence between the force \
(F_0\) at the lower end of the water column which pushes the water upwards by the
ambient pressure \(p_0\) and the force \(F_1\) at the upper end of the water column
which pushes the water downwards by the internal drinking straw pressure \(p_1\). In
both cases, the pressures act on the same inner straw cross section \(A\) so that the
corresponding forces can be determined from the pressures (\(F=p \cdot A\)).
\begin{align}\;\;\;\;\;
&F_p = F_0 – F_1 \\[5px]
&F_p = p_0 \cdot A – p_1 \cdot A \\[5px]

\label{ }
&\underline{F_p = \left(p_0 – p_1 \right) \cdot A} \\[5px]
\end{align}
This force \(F_p\) must obviously be so large that it is able to push the water column
with the weight \(F_g=m \cdot g\) upwards. The weight of the water column to be
pushed up depends on the water level in the straw. The weight increases with
increasing height. This weight can be determined from the cross-sectional area \(A\)
of the water column (= cross-sectional area of the straw) and the water density \
(\rho\) as follows:
&F_g = m \cdot g ~~~~~\text{and} ~~~ m = \rho V = \rho A h \\[5px]
&\underline{F_g = \rho gh \cdot A} \\[5px]
\end{align}
Figure: Derivation of the maximum suction lift
As the water level in the straw increases, the weight of the water column increases. At
some point the weight \(F_g\) will eventually become as large as the upwards acting
force \(F_p\). In this state it is no longer possible to push the water further upwards.
At given pressures this suction height \(h\) is determined as follows:
\require{cancel}
F_p &\overset{!}{=} F_g \\[5px]
\left(p_0 – p_1 \right) \cdot \bcancel{A} & = \rho gh \cdot \bcancel{A} \\[5px]
p_0 – p_1 &= \rho h g \\[5px]
\end{align}
&\underline{h
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For the maximum possible force with which the water can be pushed upwards, a
vacuum must be created inside the straw (\(p_1=0\)), so that the entire ambient
pressure \(p_0\) can push the water upwards inside the straw without
counterpressure. In this case, the maximum suction lift \(h_{max}\) is obtained by
creating a vacuum inside the straw:
&h_{max} = \frac{p_0 – \overbrace{p_1}^{=0}}{\rho \cdot g} \\[5px]
&\boxed{h_{max} = \frac{p_0}{\rho \cdot g} }\\[5px]
\end{align}
At an ambient pressure of 1 bar, a liquid density of 1000 kg/m³ and a gravitational

acceleration of 10 N/kg, the maximum suction lift is about 10 Meters for water:
&\underline{h_{max}} = \frac{p_0}{\rho \cdot g} \approx \frac{10^5 \frac{\text{N}}
{\text{m²}}}{1000 \frac{\text{kg}}{\text{m³}} \cdot 10 \frac{\text{N}}{\text{kg}}} =
\underline{10 \text{ m}} \\[5px]
\end{align}
For this reason, the maximum drinking height is 10 metres. With a longer drinking
straw, the ambient pressure can no longer push the water column upwards. The
water column would simply stop at this height.
Note that the generation of a vacuum is only theoretical. Because with decreasing
pressure, the boiling point of liquids also decreases. If the pressure becomes too low
at some point, the liquid in the straw begins to vaporize and the gaseous molecules
build up a pressure themselves (vapour pressure). At a temperature of 20 °C, for
example, water will vaporize at a pressure of 23 mbar. The lowest pressure that can
be achieved in static equilibrium with water at 20 °C is therefore 23 mbar and not
vacuum. In practice, therefore, lower maximum suction lifts will be achieved than are
theoretically possible with a vacuum.
In uence of immersion depth

It has already been mentioned that the immersion depth of the straw or the hoses of
suction pumps has no in uence on the maximum suction lift. This will be shown
mathematically in the following. For this purpose, the entire water column inside the
straw, which is pushed upwards, is considered. The force with which this water
column is e ectively pushed upwards again results from the di erence between the
forces at the lower and upper end of the water column:
&F_p = F_2 – F_1 \\[5px]
&F_p = p_2 \cdot A – p_1 \cdot A \\[5px]

\label{f}
&F_p = \left(p_2 – p_1 \right) \cdot A \\[5px]
\end{align}
Figure: Influence of the immersion depth on the maximum suction lift
The pressure \(p_2\) acting at the lower end of the drinking straw results from the
sum of ambient pressure \(p_0\) and hydrostatic pressure \(p_h\) (see article Pressure
in liquids). The hydrostatic pressure is determined by the density of the liquid \(\rho\),
the gravitational acceleration \(g\) and the depth below the water surface \(h_d\). This
depth (h_d) corresponds to the immersion depth of the drinking straw.
&p_2 = p_0 + p_h \\[5px]
\label{p}
&p_2 = p_0 + \rho g h_d \\[5px]
\end{align}
If equation (\ref{p}) is used in equation (\ref{f}), we obtain for the upwards acting
force \(F_p\):
&F_p = \left(p_2 – p_1 \right) \cdot A \\[5px]
&\underline{F_p = \left(p_0 + \rho g h_d – p_1 \right) \cdot A} \\[5px]
\end{align}
This force \(F_p\) must again be large enough to push the water column with the
weight \(F_g=m \cdot g\) upwards. The total height \(h_{t}\) of the water column inside
the straw results from the immersion depth below the water surface \(h_d\) and the
water level above the water surface \(h\). The weight of this water column can be
determined by cookies.
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&F_g = m \cdot g ~~~~~\text{mit} ~~~ m = \rho \cdot V = \rho \cdot A \cdot h_{t} =
\rho \cdot A \cdot (h_d+h) \\[5px]
&F_g = \rho g \left(h_d+h \right) \cdot A \\[5px]
&\underline{F_g = \left(\rho g h_d+ \rho g h\right) \cdot A} \\[5px]
\end{align}
In the state of equilibrium, the downwards acting weight \(F_g\) must be equal in
magnitude to the upwards acting force \(F_p\). The resulting suction lift \(h\) is
determined as follows:
\require{cancel}
F_p &\overset{!}{=} F_g \\[5px]
\left(p_0 + \rho g h_d – p_1 \right) \cdot \bcancel{A} & = \left(\rho g h_d+ \rho g
h\right) \cdot \bcancel{A} \\[5px]
p_0 + \bcancel{\rho g h_d} – p_1 &= \bcancel{\rho g h_d}+ \rho g h \\[5px]
p_0 – p_1 &= \rho h g \\[5px]
\end{align}
&\underline{h = \frac{p_0 – p_1}{\rho g} } \\[5px]
\end{align}
Even taking into account the immersion depth and the hydrostatic pressure acting
there, the same formula is obtained, so that the suction lift is actually not dependent
on the immersion depth itself!
There is also a clear explanation for this, because due to the hydrostatic pressure, the
water in the open straw is pushed to a uniform level anyway. In accordance with the
principle of communicating vessels, the water level inside the straw will be the same
as outside. In this respect, the ambient pressure does not have to push the water
inside the straw up to the surrounding water level – the hydrostatic pressure does
this automatically. The ambient pressure is therefore only responsible for pushing
the water up from the surrounding water level. The maximum suction lift therefore
always refers to the water surface!

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07/08/2020 How does a drinking straw work?

This article provides answers to the following questions, among others:

What role does ambient pressure play?

Why is there a maximum suction height?

What does the maximum suction lift depend on?

Figure: Drinking straw in a glass with water

Figure: Drinking Straw Principle

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Animation: Drinking Straw Principle

Figure: Pressing up the water by the ambient pressure

Maximum suction lift

Figure: Acting forces on water column

&F_p = p_0 \cdot A – p_1 \cdot A \\[5px]

Figure: Derivation of the maximum suction lift

\end{align} ACCEPT Refuse Privacy Policy

At an ambient pressure of 1 bar, a liquid density of 1000 kg/m³ and a gravitational

In uence of immersion depth

&F_p = p_2 \cdot A – p_1 \cdot A \\[5px]

Figure: Influence of the immersion depth on the maximum suction lift

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