The amount of force can be calculated, so many metric tons of water striking a surface of such and such an area, times the number of those strikes per time units selected would equal the total amount of force.

https://physics.stackexchange.com/questi...ain-energy

(December 9, 2023 at 9:46 pm)Rev. Rye Wrote:

(December 9, 2023 at 9:35 pm)Anomalocaris Wrote: it takes more water flowing over Niagara Falls to equal the Nagasaki bomb then the Hiroshima bomb, an hour and half’s flow’s worth more.

... I'm sorry, I'm having trouble parsing that. Is the water flowing over Niagara Falls supposed to equal the amount of energy released by the blast? And are we talking about the water from all three of the falls there or just one?

Then again, if we're talking about just Horseshoe Falls, it probably won't make that much difference if we added Bridal Veil and American Falls. Especially Bridal Veil Falls.

the total potential energy released by all the water flowing in niagara river at the falls making the 160 foot drop over the falls.

Swing a hammer through a four foot arc and hit a nail, driving the nail into a board. Force through distance produces work. IIRC.

(December 9, 2023 at 10:09 pm)Anomalocaris Wrote:

(December 9, 2023 at 9:46 pm)Rev. Rye Wrote: ... I'm sorry, I'm having trouble parsing that. Is the water flowing over Niagara Falls supposed to equal the amount of energy released by the blast? And are we talking about the water from all three of the falls there or just one?

Then again, if we're talking about just Horseshoe Falls, it probably won't make that much difference if we added Bridal Veil and American Falls. Especially Bridal Veil Falls.

the total potential energy released by all the water flowing in niagara river at the falls making the 160 foot drop over the falls.

Ah, so it's just the Horseshoe Falls we're talking about. This phrasing is makes more sense.

(December 9, 2023 at 10:12 pm)Gawdzilla Sama Wrote: Swing a hammer through a four foot arc and hit a nail, driving the nail into a board. Force through distance produces work. IIRC.

Yes.    The force of gravity acting on the water, times the 160 feet of the drop that results, equals the kenetic energy the water gains , or equivalently the potential energy the water losses, as it goes over the edge and plunge to the bottom.

(December 9, 2023 at 10:16 pm)Rev. Rye Wrote:

(December 9, 2023 at 10:09 pm)Anomalocaris Wrote: the total potential energy released by all the water flowing in niagara river at the falls making the 160 foot drop over the falls.

Ah, so it's just the Horseshoe Falls we're talking about. This phrasing is makes more sense.

No, it’s all the falls.  It’s calculated from the total flow in the river at the falls, however it is split between different falls.

(December 9, 2023 at 10:17 pm)Anomalocaris Wrote:

(December 9, 2023 at 10:12 pm)Gawdzilla Sama Wrote: Swing a hammer through a four foot arc and hit a nail, driving the nail into a board. Force through distance produces work. IIRC.

Yes.    The force of gravity acting on the water, times the 160 feet of the drop that results, equals the kenetic energy the water gains , or equivalently the potential energy the water losses, as it goes over the edge and plunge to the bottom.

I'll be damned. Been a few decades since I elucidated that shit.

(December 9, 2023 at 10:21 pm)Anomalocaris Wrote:

(December 9, 2023 at 10:16 pm)Rev. Rye Wrote: Ah, so it's just the Horseshoe Falls we're talking about. This phrasing is makes more sense.

No, it’s all the falls.  It’s calculated from the total flow in the river at the falls, however it is split between different falls.

Divide and konk 'em?

What would the energy output be if the falls were 1000m high and the river was mercury instead of water?

Boru

(December 10, 2023 at 5:10 am)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote: What would the energy output be if the falls were 1000m high and the river was mercury instead of water?

Boru

Potential energy released is proportional to drop height and the mass dropped.      1000m is about 20 times as high as Niagara.    Mercury is 13.5 times more dense than water.     If the same volume of mercury flow over your 1000m fall as water flowing over the 50m Niagara,   The energy released would be 20 X 13.5 =270 times as great.

So a 1000 m mercury fall flowing at the same volumetric flowrate as Niagara will release as much energy every minute as Niagara Falls would releases every 4 and half hours.    

That’s the energy of a hiroshima bomb about every minute.

The Maid of the Mist tourist boats should keep their distance from this fall,  spectacular the sight of a 3000 foot high fall of liquid silver might be.