Description: Science Workshop
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Figure 1. The vacuum “lift”
This is a photo of a science fair project that sought to test how much weight a canister vacuum cleaner could ”lift.” It started with a demonstration that can be done with any vacuum cleaner: we tried picking up balls of various sizes. No ordinary shop vac with a normal-sized hose can lift a bowling ball, but with a simple modification, any vacuum cleaner can easily lift a bowling ball. The key to the whole experiment is surface area.
Before getting into the details, I should point out there really is no such thing as suction as most people (myself included) think of it. The common thought is that vacuums exert a force that pulls objects into them. Hence the terms “lift” “suck” and “pick up” which are often used to describe vacuuming. That is not the case. In actuality, objects entering the hose of a vacuum cleaner are being pushed into it.