Does WATER really turn a different direction depending what HEMISPHERE you are at?

Question

I think it's called the coriolis effect. When I turn on either the hot or cold water tap on, it goes down the drain from wherever the tap is situated

Answer 1

I always thought this until I checked out the link below, the Coriolis force is too small to be the usual factor determining the way the vortex rotates when you pull out the bathplug. But the Coriolis force does influence the direction of rotation of cyclones (zones of low atmospheric pressure), which go in opposite directions in the Northern and Southern hemispheres.

Answer 2

No, it ABSOLUTELY does NOT.

This urban legend is attributed to the Coriolis force, which is real and does have an effect on things such as air currents. But for the Coriolis force to be exerted on something, it takes time and huge distances.

The Coriolis effect is simply the fact that you will be moving faster through space if you are at the equator than further north or south of it. This is because the curvature of the earth would bring you closer to the center of the axis of spin of the earth as you go further north or south. If you are at the exact north or south pole, you wouldn't be moving at all. If you have 20" tires on a car that has it's speedometer going at 50 miles an hour, then magically change those tires to 25" while keeping the same setting on the accelerator, you will find that you are going faster. The speedometer is going to read 50 mph, but that is only because it is set to read the amount of spin at the axis of the wheel.

Although the Coriolis force is exerted on the water that flows down toilets, it is too small to effect its direction. Other factors, such as the angle that the water goes into a drain, the action by which it is drawn in, the incongruities of the surface, etc, have considerably more influence on how it spins around the drain, and greatly overwhelms the influence of the Coriolis force.

Answer 3

Absolutely not.

If Coriolis forces could have a significant effect across the width of a bathroom sink, footballers and cricketers would have to take the orientation of the pitch into account every time they kicked or bowled a ball. You couldn't even walk across a room without veering off course!

Coriolis forces affect movements over a large distance because the rotational speed at the surface of the Earth decreases as you move from the Equator to the poles; something (like a mass of air) moving northward has more speed than the ground below it, so it moves off course.

At the latitude of say, Derby, the difference in rotational velocity between the north side of your sink and the south is less than1/50th of a millimetre per second - about 60mm per hour, much less than water movements already there due to running tap or putting your hands in.

Answer 4

It is going on the instant down without turning the two way, however that's plagued by the form of the sink. Years in the past in Kenya, there develop right into a boy who lived close to the equator and made a fortune from vacationers. All he had develop right into a bucket with a hollow in it, and a few matchsticks. He could stand interior the northern hemisphere, fill the bucket with water, chuck a pair of suits in, and invite human beings to visual exhibit unit the suits. Then he'd walk some yards down the line into the southern hemisphere, and do the comparable. of course, the suits went any other way around. To crown it, he'd then stand with one foot the two area of the equator (which develop into marked with a line for the vacationers), and the suits stayed the place they have been. i will guess he's a millionaire by now!

Answer 5

NO. This urban myth was debunked on web sites like snopes. It only has do do with the shape of the sink it is running into. The Coriolis effect needs a basin hundreds of miles in diameter to show anything. If you don't have that at home you are not going to see it.

Answer 6

The Coriolis effect is much to weak to affect a small body of water like in your home. It does however effect larger systems. Like the air in the atmosphere and the water in the oceans. It effects the direction of winds and sea-currents.

Answer 7

it depends:
-If you are refering to water going down a drain, the answer is no, at least not due to physics. The design of the source & container (tub, sink, etc) and the drain will determine the direction.
-The coriolis force, due to the shape and rotation of the earth is so small on this scale that it is "down in the noise" relative to other factors.
-On a larger scale, the answer is yes (see for instance the path of the gulf stream. As it moves north, it still tends to keep the earth's rotational speed imparted at lower latitudes and therefore moves ahead (east) relative to ambient waters).

Answer 8

In theory, the anser is yes. ALTHOUGH, I have traveled in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres, and have not seen the water flow in an oppisite direction. I can honestly say, that when I was on a Naval ship traveling past the southern edge of Australia, the water flow DID NOT change. I was rather disappointed to see that.

Answer 9

There are many discussions about it.A Shapiro is the first who made experiments about Coriolis which exists but is a weak power.The tank has to be very calm,symmetrical,no air in the room

Answer 10

Urban myth. Not true. Water goes around in regards to faucet placement and slight tilt of said drain. Toilets in Oz flush the same way as NYC.