Abstract
Two open containers filled with fluids of different density and connected
by a vertical capillary tube can approach their thermodynamical equilibrium
via an oscillatory flow. The temporal evolution of flow velocities was
measured quantitatively. Data on the critical values determining the
flow reversal are extracted yielding a simple dependence of the critical
level of heavy fluid as a function of the density ratio and the length of
the capillary. A novel theoretical description of the system is presented
which is based on a one-fluid model and a steady-state approximation for a
two-dimensional flow. Theoretical results are in good agreement with the
experimental data.
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