Ear Damage from Diving. If the force on the tympanic membrane (eardrum) increases by about 1.5 N above the force from atmospheric pressure, the membrane can be damaged. When you go scuba diving in the ocean, below what depth could damage to your eardrum start to occur? The eardrum is typically 8.2 mm in diameter. (Consult Table 12.1.)

Exploring Venus. The surface pressure on Venus is 92 atm, and the acceleration due to gravity there is 0.894g. In a future exploratory mission, an upright cylindrical tank of benzene is sealed at the top but still pressurized at 92 atm just above the benzene. The tank has a diameter of 1.72 m, and the benzene column is 11.50 m tall. Ignore any effects due to the very high temperature on Venus. What force does the Venusian atmosphere exert on the outside surface of the bottom of the tank?

A closed container is partially filled with water. Initially, the air above the water is at atmospheric pressure (1.01×10⁵ Pa) and the gauge pressure at the bottom of the water is 2500 Pa. Then additional air is pumped in, increasing the pressure of the air above the water by 1500 Pa. What is the gauge pressure at the bottom of the water?

A barrel contains a 0.120-m layer of oil floating on water that is 0.250 m deep. The density of the oil is 600 kg/m³. (a) What is the gauge pressure at the oil–water interface? (b) What is the gauge pressure at the bottom of the barrel?

Oceans on Mars. Scientists have found evidence that Mars may once have had an ocean 0.500 km deep. The acceleration due to gravity on Mars is 3.71 m/s². (a) What would be the gauge pressure at the bottom of such an ocean, assuming it was freshwater? (b) To what depth would you need to go in the earth's ocean to experience the same gauge pressure?

BIO. There is a maximum depth at which a diver can breathe through a snorkel tube (Fig. E12.17) because as the depth increases, so does the pressure difference, which tends to collapse the diver's lungs. Since the snorkel connects the air in the lungs to the atmosphere at the surface, the pressure inside the lungs is atmospheric pressure. What is the external– internal pressure difference when the diver's lungs are at a depth of 6.1 m (about 20 ft)? Assume that the diver is in fresh-water. (A scuba diver breathing from compressed air tanks can operate at greater depths than can a snorkeler, since the pressure of the air inside the scuba diver's lungs increases to match the external pressure of the water.)

You are designing a diving bell to withstand the pressure of seawater at a depth of 250 m. What is the gauge pressure at this depth? (You can ignore changes in the density of the water with depth.) At this depth, what is the net force due to the water outside and the air inside the bell on a circular glass window 30.0 cm in diameter if the pressure inside the diving bell equals the pressure at the surface of the water? (Ignore the small variation of pressure over the surface of the window.)

You are designing a diving bell to withstand the pressure of seawater at a depth of 250 m. (a) What is the gauge pressure at this depth? (You can ignore changes in the density of the water with depth.)

In intravenous feeding, a needle is inserted in a vein in the patient's arm and a tube leads from the needle to a reservoir of fluid (density 1050 kg/m³) located at height h above the arm. The top of the reservoir is open to the air. If the gauge pressure inside the vein is 5980 Pa, what is the minimum value of h that allows fluid to enter the vein? Assume the needle diameter is large enough that you can ignore the viscosity of the liquid.