Steamboat Puff Puff

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A steamboat exemplifies several laws of physics and physical phenomena.

1) Energy transformation. Thermal energy is transformed into mechanical energy, as in a real steamboat. The heat released by a candle burning (by paraffin) is used to heat water. Boiling water turns into steam, which quickly fills in the small container at a considerable pressure. The pressure forces the steam out of the container at some velocity. The boat moves forward doing mechanical work. Obviously there is some energy loss due to releasing of heat to the surroundings.

2) Law of conservation of momentum. The momentum with which steam is pushed out of the nozzle is equal to the momentum of the boat.

3) Newton's 2nd law of motion for bodies whose mass undergoes a change is also illustrated. The change of the boat's momentum in time becomes the boat's driving force. The change of momentum is supplemented with the change of velocity and mass of the steam released in the direction opposite to the direction of the boat movement, as in the case of a jet car.

4) After gaining momentum, the steamboat makes its way in uniform motion. It is because of resistance forces, and in this very case it is caused by the force of viscosity which is proportional to the velocity.

where C is characteristic size of the hydrodynamic shape (the "drag coefficient"), h - is coefficient of viscosity and v is the velocity of the boat.