[wordup] How does Dyson make water go uphill?

[Adam Shand]

This is really cool.

From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3046791.stm

How does Dyson make water go uphill?

James Dyson's uphill water feature has been the striking image of this 
year's Chelsea Flower Show. But how did he do it?

It certainly beats your common or garden water feature.

Inventor James Dyson, he of the bagless vacuum cleaner, has stolen the 
headlines from the gardeners at this year's Chelsea Flower Show with his 
"Wrong Garden".

A set of four glass ramps positioned in a square clearly show water 
travelling up each of them before it pours off the top, only to start 
again at the bottom of the next ramp.

It is a sight which defies logic, and has become probably the most 
memorable image of this year's show.

Mr Dyson says his inspiration was a drawing by the Dutch artist MC 
Escher (he of Gothic palaces where soldiers are eternally walking 
upstairs, and of patterns where birds turn into fish).

"One of these is an optical illusion that shows water going uphill and 
round and round the four sides of a square perpetually," he says [see 
Internet Links]. "I wanted to create a series of cascades that are all 
on the same level - an everlasting waterfall."

After much head scratching and experimentation, the effect has been 
achieved. Derek Phillips, the Dyson engineer who spent 12 months 
building the feature, told BBC News Online that his head was spinning 
when he was given his brief.

"James came up to me and said he wanted this idea to make water go 
uphill. My initial reaction was to look for Paul Daniels' phone number. 
But I've had to become a bit of an illusionist myself."

How is the illusion achieved?

Covering the ramp is a glass surface. Water is pumped in at the bottom, 
and comes out of the opening at the top. At the opening, some of the 
water is diverted back down the ramp, covering the glass in a thin layer 
of water.

Compressed air is also pumped in where the water enters - bubbles then 
travels up the ramp to the opening. These bubbles, combined with the 
thin later of water going downhill, are what create the illusion that 
the surface of the ramp is not just a glass lid.

It is a trick which has greatly intrigued the crowds at the Chelsea 
Flower Show, where Dyson's work is part of the Daily Telegraph's Silver 
Gilt award-winning garden. People have been queuing up 10-deep to see 
the fountain, says Mr Phillips, many of them discussing their various 
ideas as to how it works.

"I stand a discreet distance away and listen to some of their theories - 
there are some fantastic ideas there, some of them I actually wish I 
could make.

"One person was saying that they thought the water was actually 
travelling the other way - they were wondering how I was managing to get 
a water jet to shoot up to the top of the glass."

So could the uphill feature become a common sight around the country, 
either in people's gardens or as features in public squares?

"We could certainly make mini versions of it - or even larger versions," 
says Mr Phillips. "I've had a few architects coming up to me asking me 
about it. But I'm not telling exactly how I achieve the effect."

Before someone tries to market their own uphill water feature, they had 
better be warned. James Dyson - no stranger to court battles over 
patents - has presumably taken care of the necessary legal business.