Question from a non-Fluid person

ozzy

Hello all,

My friends at work and I debated on a simple flow phenomena, and since non of us have backgrounds in Fluids, I decided to post it at this site.

Here is a simple question for all you fluid dynamics gurus:

I observed the shape of free falling fluids. If the fluid has not reached very high velocities, it is forming a conical shape. (just imagine the shape of the water jet coming out of a faucet, or imagine honey being poured from a spoon).

My explaination of this shape is follows: Because the flow is faster at the bottom, area of flow must be decreasing because flow must be constant. In other words, volume per time must be constant.

On the other hand, their argument is that, the shape has to be conical because of the surface tension. They say that the wide opening of the faucet overcomes surface tension first, and then gradually area decreases.

I appreciate any answers on this simple question,

Thanks everyone,