Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2003 / ib / Paper 4 / 7C / Solution

For steady inviscid flow at atmospheric pressure, Bernoulli's equation along a freely falling streamline gives $u^2/2+gz=u_0^2/2+gH$. The downward speed is thereforeFor the incompressible jet, mass conservation fixes its volume flux: $\pi R^{2}u=\pi a^2{u}_0$. ConsequentlyFar from impact, the inviscid falling jet and radial impact film is thin and nearly horizontal. Let $v$ be its radial speed and $h$ its thickness. The same volume flux now crosses a cylindrical surface of area $2\pi rh$, giving $v=a^2{u}_0/(2rh)$. At the free surface, atmospheric pressure and Bernoulli's equation give $v^2=u_0^2+2g(H-h)$. Eliminate $v$ to obtainThis description assumes a steady incompressible jet, negligible surface tension, and negligible dissipation between the tube and the thin far-field film. It is a free-surface relation, not an assertion that pressure is atmospheric throughout the film or that the impact region itself is thin.