why does water always seem to drain in a clockwise direction?

Answer 1

sorry, you are all wrong...

Draining bathtubs/toilets
A popular misconception is that the Coriolis effect determines the direction in which bathtubs or toilets drain, and whether water always drains in one direction in the Northern Hemisphere, and in the other direction in the Southern Hemisphere. In reality, the Coriolis effect is a few orders of magnitude smaller than other random influences on drain direction, such as the geometry of the sink, toilet, or tub; whether it is flat or tilted; and the direction in which water was initially added to it. Note that toilets typically are designed to only flush in one rotation, by having the flush water enter at an angle. If one takes great care to create a flat circular pool of water with a small, smooth drain; to wait for eddies caused by filling it to die down; and to remove the drain from below (or otherwise remove it without introducing new eddies into the water) – then it is possible to observe the influence of the Coriolis effect in the direction of the resulting vortex.
This is less of a puzzle once one remembers that the earth revolves once per day but that a bathtub takes only minutes to drain. When the water is being drawn towards the drain, the radius with which it is spinning around it decreases, so its rate of rotation increases from the low background level to a noticeable spin in order to conserve its angular momentum (the same effect as ballet dancers bringing their arms in to cause them to spin faster).

Answer 2

No matter where in the world you are, the direction of draining water is determined by the shape of the vessel that the water is kept in (for instance the shape of the bath tub).

(Some people think that the coriolis effect will make water drain in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction depending on whether you are in the southern or northern hemisphere, but the coriolis effect is weak and will not affect draining water in an everyday situation.)

Answer 3

The reason the water in the toilet goes clockwise isbecause of the way ti was made. I found this on the internet to explain my point. In addition I did an expirement in physics that proved that the majority of the spin is from the manufacturing; however a very small portion of the spin is atributed to the coriolis affect. Like 2-5% of the motion. The spin of the earth is mostly affecting the atmosphere like hurricanes and such.

some additional info for you
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Compared to the rotations that one usually sees (tires on a travelling automobile, a compact disc playing music, or a draining sink), the rotation of the Earth is very small: only one rotation per day. The water in a sink might make a rotation in a few seconds and so have a rotation rate ten thousand times higher than that of the Earth. It should not be surprising, therefore, to learn that the Coriolis force is orders of magnitude smaller than any of the forces involved in these everyday spinning things. The Coriolis force is so small, that it plays no role in determining the direction of rotation of a draining sink anymore than it does the direction of a spinning CD.

The direction of rotation of a draining sink is determined by the way it was filled, or by vortices introduced while washing. The magnitude of these rotations may be small, but they are nevertheless gargantuan by comparison to the rotation of the Earth.

Answer 4

if you were to go to the other side of the equator you would see water drain just the opposite. In fact if a double sink is placed with a drain on each side of the equator the water would drain clockwise on one side and counter clockwise in the other at the same time. I seen it with my own eyes when I went to the Gulocipos islands on vacation.

Answer 5

If you go on the other side of the world, the water drains counterclockwise. I was told it is this way because of our position in regard to the center of the earth.

Its a physics problem, so try to consult your physics book for a concrete answer.

Answer 6

Because you are in the Northern Hemisphere.

Answer 7

dunno .... but water drains clockwise in one half of the hemisphere and anti clockwise in the other half ! Learned during my science (geography?) lessons

Answer 8

This link should clear things up a bit.

http://www.snopes.com/science/coriolis.htm

Answer 9

this is a really good question. I think it has a lot to do with the gravity of the earth.

Answer 10

but it doesn't if you live in the southern hemisphere, does it....

so your question is incorrect, try again.