Physics of Toilets

Throughout the ages we have seen timeless inventions to numerous to name. We have seen everythingfrom the inventio of the radio to the engine to the atomic bomb. But there is one invention that goes onunappreciated, even looked down upon. The toilet. The toilet is an amazingly simple invention which,without it, the world would be a very different place. Without toilets there would be waste in our housesas well as in the streets that would have to be manually taken care of. Without the flush toilet there is nopossible way that the world could survive as populated as it is. It is an invention that has become, in ourtime, a necessity.

The Birth of the Flush Toilet

The first successful attempt at a true water flush toilet as see them today came as early as 1862. Known as a "washout", it consisted of a bowl with a hole in the bottom on the front or back. Below this was a p-trap filled with water in order to prevent gas escape.

Such wonderful devices became very popular over to the outhouses and earth closets (portable outhouses). They were much liked, though known to often flush incompletely.

An improvewment was made on the "washout" when the bowl was combined as one with the p-trap. This was known as a "washdown". Though it was an improvement, neither the washout nor the washdown were known for aconsistent complete flush.

Nearing the end of the centruy, sanitaryware manufacturers discovered that by diverting some of the water from tank pipe into the bowl acting almost like a jet flush. It was also learned that if the shape of the p-trap exit were changed it would act almost as a siphon sucking everything from the bowl.

Thus the modern flush toilet was born. Though people often credit Thomas Crapper for the invention of the flush toilet, he was in actuality only the owner of one of the first largest toilet manufacturers. It was in fact a collection of ideas of many people from Leonardo DaVinci to John Harrington to Alexander Cumming and on through history.

The Basic Concept Behind the Flushing Toilet

Flushing a toilet is the perfect example of basic physics. A toilet is little more than a storage tank of potential energy. The tank on the back of every toilet, as most people know, is filled with water.

When the flushing lever is pressed all of the stored water in the tank is suddenly released through a hole in the bottom of the tank.