As shown in the figure, a syringe used by children when they play with coloured water consists of a cylinder made of plastic or metal fitted with a piston.
One end of the cylinder is in the form of a narrow
tube. The snugly fitting piston can slide in , and out smoothly. The rod connected to the i piston passes through a hole in the centre of the lid and has a handle at the other end. When the tip of the narrow tube is dipped in coloured water (or any other liquid) and the piston is pushed towards the tip, up to the bottom, most of the air in the cylinder escapes through the tube, reducing the pressure.
When the piston is moved up, the coloured water rises in the part of the cylinder below the piston due to the atmospheric pressure. Finally, the inner pressure equals the atmospheric pressure and no more coloured water enters in or comes out.
To spray the coloured water, the tube is taken out and the piston is moved towards the opening of the tube. As the inner pressure is now greater than the atmospheric pressure, the coloured water gushes out of the narrow opening of the tube.
