Typical gardens we know are areas ornamented with distinctive plants and where people become gardeners for their own benefit. Better gardens also become more accommodating and relaxing if added with a few niceties such as outdoor furniture and a lot of people go the extra mile in garden decorations to provide more elegance. Garden fountains are the type of decorations that supply such stylishness.

We all realize that fountains have a nonstop flow of water with the help of a pump. Some better garden gets a boost in overall beauty and attraction in which birds can be drawn to bathe or drink in it.

Everybody knows that fountains function because of waterpumps powered by electricity. However, not many people are aware that early fountains already had the same function way sooner than electricity can be used. How did the ancients able to do this?

History

Ancient fountains were built and used by different civilizations for different purposes. Fountains and wells were man-made water sources where the population could refill themselves. The ancient Romans were known to have built simple and yet intricate, water distribution systems and networks. If the body of fresh water is too faraway from a Roman city, aqueducts were built that function as the pipe network where water from mountains would run descending towards the city. Water that passes through these aqueducts are then collected in reservoirs that could be distributed again via another network of aqueducts going all the way to the city’s wells, pools, baths and fountains.

Renowned fountains like the Trevi fountain and the stunning fountains of Peterhof are testament to ancient flowing fountains. These fountains were able to spout tall jets of water and continuously made cascading flows without the use of pumps.

Technical Principle

Gravity and pressure are the main dynamics that provide fountain its continuous flow. The way these two forces affect fountains is that the flow and spouting height on fountains are determined by how high and how fast the supply of the water is.

Back in ancient times, early fountains relied on height and gravity for the delivery of fresh water not just to fountains, but also on wells, pools and baths. Nowadays, the main dynamics that mostly regulate the flow and pressure of water on fountains is electricity. Garden fountains are usually supplied with water by a water pump and the pressure and flow of the water onto the fountain’s basin is controlled by a system of pipes and valves.

The upward flow coming from a fountain is both pressurized and is influenced by the dimension and diameter of the pipes and primarily by valves. The same principle is similar to rotating the valves on any faucet. Just like any other valve, fountain valves are the main apparatuses that dictate the quantity of water exiting though the pipes. The smaller the pipe’s diameter, the greater the pressure of the liquid coming out of it resulting to the liquid’s high velocity burst. It’s like simply picturing yourself holding a hose and when you cover half of the nozzle, the flow of water would surely exit in a longer span and a faster pace.

Regardless of the reasonably simple scientific principles that operate fountains, they still need clever architecture and well-planned construction to have e graceful waterflow. The design of a fountain should also really be beautiful since nearly all better garden fountains are used largely for the attraction of guests and revelers.