[Physics] If I Blow smoke out the window, will any come inside the room

airfluid dynamicspressure

My girlfriend and I have got into a lively debate about whether or not my flatmates can smell the smoke I blow out my window. Can you help us? Here is the scenario.

  1. The smoker, places himself perched upon the window, with his cigarette placed in his left hand, which remains outside permanently and remaining at least 15cm away from the window at all times.

  2. It's winter in Edinburgh (it's 2 degrees celcius outside). The room temperature is about 21 degrees.

  3. When the smoker exhales, he projects a thin stream of smoke directly outside (at 90 degrees). (so as, to move it as cleanly and as far away as possible)

  4. There is very little wind outside.

Assuming that:

  1. Hotter air has a higher air pressure than cooler air
  2. The room is hotter than outside, so it has a higher air pressure.
  3. High pressure air always flows to low pressure air

We can hope to assert:

  1. That although the smoke is hot upon being exhaled, it will cool rapidly when exposed to the 2C air and thereby achieve an air pressure significantly low enough to be unable to cross ithe nside/outside threshold due to difference in air pressure between itself and the room.

Best Answer

If a house were filled with water to the top of the door and you opened the front door, water would run out the bottom part of the opening and air would come in from that outside through the top part of the opening. This is because the water is more dense than the air. In the case of your open window, the inside air is warmer (less dense) than the outside air. So outside air will come in through the bottom part of the window opening (from the outside), and inside air will leave through the upper part of the window opening. The air coming in through the lower part of the opening will carry smoke from the cigarette with it into the room.

The real proof of this is that the room gets cold with the window open. So cold air must be coming in from outside (and bringing smoke back in with it).

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