How Long can a Straw be?

By Anupum Pant

Vat19, a fun online store, sells this set of DIY connectible straws which can be used to make the most elaborate straw contraptions to wither mix two drinks in real-time or something else. Of course the better thing you could do with them is get two sets or more of these straws. But how long can you go before your straw no longer works?

Well, horizontally you could make it as long as you want it. Also, on some other planet you could make extremely long vertical straws too. But here on earth, there’s a limit to the longest vertical straw you can make. You can make a longer one indeed, but it won’t work.

~10.3 meters is the theoretical limit – that’s for perfect vacuum.  That’s pretty long. Still, humans can’t make perfect vacuum using their mouths, so practically even a 6 meter long straw would make you sweat hard. Also, the inner diameter of the tube matters too. Why? Veritasium explains the physics behind it…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *