ive always heard that people living north of the equators toilet flushes clockwise, and people living south of the equator toilet flushes counterclockwise, is this true...and if so..what if you was right on the equator, would your toilet flush, or just (meaning rotate) go down, with out the swirl...
2006-10-27 19:34:01 · 12 answers · asked by jdog44442003 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Weather
The answer from Vainglorious is correct. You can prove this easily with the sink in your house. Small scale circulation can spin in either direction. In the case of a toilet, it will spin in the direction it is designed to.
2006-10-27 21:05:34 · answer #1 · answered by UALog 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm surprised that so many people think this is true. It's not.
No matter where in the world you are, the direction of draining water is determined by the shape of the vessel that the fluid is kept in (for instance the shape of the bath tub), and by the way in which it was filled.
The origin of this misconception is the coriolis effect, which (for instance) makes the wind move counter-clockwise around a low pressure area in the northern hemisphere, and clockwise in the southern hemisphere.
The coriolis effect only affects big systems, not very small ones like a toilet or a bathtub.
If you want to see the coriolis effect in draining water, you would have to use a BIG tub, perfectly circular and symmetric, and you would have to let the water stay there for quite a long time (days) to make sure it is absolutely still. The drain would have to be in the exact centre. If you do this, you may perhaps be able to see a rotation in the drain, due to the coriolis effect, unless you are on the equator, where the water would go straight down.
2006-10-28 11:06:21 · answer #2 · answered by Barret 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's gonna swirl. That's the natural mechanism for water molecules that are converging to get past each other. And whatever directional tendency a particular heisphere has is so slight, it's easy for other factors, such as bowl shape, direction of the inlets or surface flaws, to overcome. So I wouldn't even count on that.
That said, if you flushed a toilet at the north or south pole, it would just keep on swirling and never go down.
2006-10-28 02:54:10 · answer #3 · answered by skepsis 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No - this is an urban myth but it is based on some science.
Due to the Earth's rotation there exists a process called the Coriolis Effect - this is what gives hurricanes/typhoons/cyclones their distinctive spiral shape. The effect is only evident on large objects like weather systems.
The same spinning force also applies in the toilet BUT the normal forces of side friction, initial motion, etc, are massively more influential on the eventual motion of the water. The Coriolis Effect is insignificant on this small scale.
2006-10-28 03:22:31 · answer #4 · answered by Vainglorious 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes this is true I just tried it and mine flushes clockwise and my dad said if you go to Australia, then it would go counterclockwise which is south of the equator.
2006-10-31 17:02:02 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes it is true I noticed it when I came to Australia in the SH from the UK in the NH. I think precisely on the equator it can swirl either way depending on the slight variations in the centrifigal force locally. Maybe I should go to Ecuador, take a few dumps and check it out :)
2006-10-28 02:39:05 · answer #6 · answered by Vermin 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it's very true
along the equator it depends on forces acting on your toilet
2006-10-28 04:37:09 · answer #7 · answered by bprice215 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes what you said is true, and also if you are on the equator it will go straight down...
2006-10-28 02:42:46 · answer #8 · answered by 1 Sailor 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
And I thought I was confused before I read these answers.
2006-10-31 20:48:48 · answer #9 · answered by Wrath Warbone 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no matter how it rotates, as long as it goes down, no problem!
2006-10-28 11:43:38 · answer #10 · answered by lisette 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋