Why is it that when one is taking a hot shower, the shower curtain tends to be pulled inward, inside the shower(as opposed to being pushed outward)?
Asked by: MLR
Answer
Hot air is less dense than usual air and therefore rises up. This takes effect in a shower where the hot water heats up the air on the inside of the curtain. This hot air rises upwards creating a very partial vacuum in the inside of the shower. This results in decrease in the pressure on the inside of the curtain as compared to the pressure on the outside of the curtain. This results in the curtain being 'pushed' inwards.
Answered by: Madhur Upman, High school student
'There is no inductive method which could lead to the fundamental concepts of physics. Failure to understand this fact constituted the basic philosophical error of so many investigators of the nineteenth century.'