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What will happen to a glass container with a vacuum inside of it if it is dropped?
Question Date: 2007-01-27
Answer 1:

By vacuum, we are saying that there is a smaller density of molecules of air (nitrogen and oxygen, mostly) inside the glass container. If we drop the container and it does not break... nothing will happen! If we drop the container and it breaks, the outside air will rush in to fill the vacuum space. This will cause the broken bottle pieces to 'implode', or collapse inward as the bottle breaks. The vacuum will be very quickly filled by the surrounding air.

Answer 2:

If it breaks, air will rush in and fill the vacuum. The bigger the container, the more force this wind will generate. In the case of something small - like a light bulb - you won't notice much.


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