Make me a signature or... something - Page 7

Kamog · #61 December 17th, 2002, 08:49 AM

Hey, if you flush the toilet in the Southern Hemisphere, the water is supposed to swirl in the opposite direction as it goes down. I don't think this is true but I never had a chance to do an experiment to see if it's true.

I'll go flush my toilet right now and see which way it swirls...
OK, it swirls COUNTER-CLOCKWISE. I am in the Northern Hemisphere.

I don't think I'll have an opportunity to visit the Southern Hemiphere anytime soon, so if you live there, please try flushing your toilet. (And if you're in the Northern Hemisphere, does your toilet swirl counter-clockwise like mine does?)

I wonder what happens if you're at the North Pole, or South Pole, or on the Equator?

Ruatha · #62 December 17th, 2002, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Kamog:
Hey, if you flush the toilet in the Southern Hemisphere, the water is supposed to swirl in the opposite direction as it goes down. I don't think this is true but I never had a chance to do an experiment to see if it's true.

I'll go flush my toilet right now and see which way it swirls...
OK, it swirls COUNTER-CLOCKWISE. I am in the Northern Hemisphere.

I don't think I'll have an opportunity to visit the Southern Hemiphere anytime soon, so if you live there, please try flushing your toilet. (And if you're in the Northern Hemisphere, does your toilet swirl counter-clockwise like mine does?)

I wonder what happens if you're at the North Pole, or South Pole, or on the Equator?

The toilet is too small a system for the coriolis effect to have any implication. Wich way the water turns in the toilet is based on where the water enters, imperfections in the toilet and where it exits. A toilet that spins the water clockwise on the nortern hemisphere will do so also on the south hemisphere.
The coriolis effect needs large weather systems to really make any impact.

Better explanation

[ December 17, 2002, 07:55: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

Kamog · #63 December 17th, 2002, 10:24 AM

Wow, thanks, Ruatha! I remember hearing about the water swirling the opposite way in the Southern Hemisphere a number of times from different people, and each time I heard it, I had this nagging feeling that it didn't seem right... but I couldn't come up with a good argument to say why it's not right, so I couldn't disagree, and it sort of bothered me for years!

Desdinova · #64 December 18th, 2002, 01:59 AM

you can alway fill up your sink or bathtub and let it drain. that will be affected by the effect.

Puke · #65 December 18th, 2002, 05:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Kamog:
That's an interesting sig!

...um, one time I dropped my toast and it landed with the butter side facing UP! It must have been at a moment of special planetary alignment or something.

It will probably never happen again... (It's one of those "maybe it will happen once in your lifetime if you're extremely lucky" type of events.)

no, the answer is simple: you buttered the wrong side.

Kamog · #66 December 18th, 2002, 07:37 AM

Next time, I'll butter half of one side and half of the other side, so at least I know that I'm half right about which side to put the butter on.

Ruatha · #67 December 18th, 2002, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by desdinova:
you can alway fill up your sink or bathtub and let it drain. that will be affected by the effect.

-nope, it won't.
It's just to small a system to be effected by the coriolis effect.

Krsqk · #68 December 18th, 2002, 03:12 PM

Well, if you plugged up most of the drain so it drained very slowly, the Coriolis force could eventually reverse it, given enough time. It affects all systems; it just is a weak force compared to the force of the rotation of the system.

Ruatha · #69 December 18th, 2002, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Krsqk:
Well, if you plugged up most of the drain so it drained very slowly, the Coriolis force could eventually reverse it, given enough time. It affects all systems; it just is a weak force compared to the force of the rotation of the system.

If it drained very slowly it wouldn't build up any momentum for it to spin, right?
It would essentially be a system with water standing still. And you don't se still standing water starting to spin by itself just becourse you let it be for a couple of weeks, months, years...

[ December 18, 2002, 15:09: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

Krsqk · #70 December 18th, 2002, 05:32 PM

I'm assuming there's some momentum to begin with. It wouldn't reverse the flow, but it would slow it down/stop it.