Vacuum facts for kids
A vacuum is a place where there is no matter. Sound cannot move in a vacuum. Outer space is not a perfect vacuum, because there is a very small number of particles there.
Industrial vacuums
Vacuum is needed for some kinds of industrial production. Vacuum pumps are used to pump air out of the vacuum chamber. In the real world it is not possible to create 100% vacuum, but some vacuum pumps are able to create 99.9999% vacuum. This is called "hard vacuum". Most industrial purposes do not need hard vacuum; 0.001% is good enough.
Industrial vacuums are mainly used in:
- Food industry
- Electronics industry
- Packaging
- Manipulation
- Coating and degasing
Vacuum chambers are also used in many experiments in laboratories. Some experiments in physics and chemistry need hard vacuum.
Related pages
Images for kids
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Pump to demonstrate vacuum
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A large vacuum chamber
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A glass McLeod gauge, drained of mercury
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Light bulbs contain a partial vacuum, usually backfilled with argon, which protects the tungsten filament
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This shallow water well pump reduces atmospheric air pressure inside the pump chamber. Atmospheric pressure extends down into the well, and forces water up the pipe into the pump to balance the reduced pressure. Above-ground pump chambers are only effective to a depth of approximately 9 meters due to the water column weight balancing the atmospheric pressure.
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Deep wells have the pump chamber down in the well close to the water surface, or in the water. A "sucker rod" extends from the handle down the center of the pipe deep into the well to operate the plunger. The pump handle acts as a heavy counterweight against both the sucker rod weight and the weight of the water column standing on the upper plunger up to ground level.
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A cutaway view of a turbomolecular pump, a momentum transfer pump used to achieve high vacuum
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This painting, An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump by Joseph Wright of Derby, 1768, depicts an experiment performed by Robert Boyle in 1660.
