INSIDE A VACUUM CLEANER
How do these household cleaning machines suck up dirt and dust?
WORDS AILSA HARVEY
DID YOU KNOW?
Vacuum cleaner parties were held for the first vacuums
Whether your vacuum cleaner plugs into the wall, is a handheld device or performs its job automatically as a robot, the science behind these appliances is largely the same. Vacuum cleaners efficiently collect small particles through suction, which involves manipulating the movement of air particles by altering the pressure near them. When the pressure of the air inside a vacuum cleaner is lower than the air outside, particles rush towards the lower pressure. This process falls under a scientific idea called Bernoulli’s principle, which dictates how vacuum cleaners control air flow. To create a lower air pressure inside the vacuum cleaner, air particles need to be moving faster. The speed of particles inside the vacuum is increased by an internal fan. As the difference in air pressure increases, external air rushes with speed towards the fan to balance this, carrying light particles of dust and dirt from nearby surfaces through the vacuum’s small opening.