Why does the water in the toilet goes the other way round comapring in uk?

Question

Plz answer this question really important..

actually tell me why the toilet water in australia goes the other way round...
plz reply

Answer 1

This is the formula for colioris acceleration!

Ac=2wV
Ac is the acceleration of colioris
w is the angular velocity vector
and V is the velocity of the particle in the rotating system!

The Coriolis effect is the behaviour added by the Coriolis acceleration. The formula implies that the Coriolis acceleration is perpendicular both to the direction of the velocity of the moving mass and to the rotation axis. So in particular:

* if the velocity is parallel to the rotation axis, the Coriolis acceleration is zero
* if the velocity is straight inward to the axis, the acceleration is in the direction of local rotation
* if the velocity is straight outward from the axis, the acceleration is against the direction of local rotation
* if the velocity is in the direction of local rotation, the acceleration is outward from the axis
* if the velocity is against the direction of local rotation, the acceleration is inward to the axis

A POPULAR MISCONCEPTION is that the Coriolis effect determines the direction in which bathtubs or toilets drain, and that water always drains in one direction in the Northern Hemisphere, and in the other direction in the Southern Hemisphere. This MYTH has perhaps been perpetuated by the Simpsons episode "Bart Vs. Australia," in which protagonist Bart Simpson has a young Australian boy confirm that his toilet water in the Southern Hemisphere spins in the opposite direction from Bart's own in the Northern Hemisphere. The MYTH is also propagated by the plethora of websites CLAIMING THIS FALACY is true!

Strangely, many of these sites CLAIM that drain water spins clockwise north of the equator, and counterclockwise south of it, which is reversed from direction of spin that would result from the Coriolis force, if it were a determining factor!

Answer 2

There was an experiment on the effect of Coriolis acceleration on the spin direction about 30-40 years ago, reported in "Journal of Applied Mechanics." As I recall, the water in the large tank had to be left undisturbed for over 24 hours before the Coriolis effect gave the proper spin of the exiting water for the northern or southern hemisphere. Thus, it's likely that the shape of the exit or a disturbance sets the spin as per discussion in Wikipedia (reference below). Try experimenting in your bathtub.

Answer 3

Wrong answer that sounds right: it's the Coriolis pseudoforce. The same thing that causes weather patterns to move clockwise in the north and counterclockwise in the south.

Correct answer: It doesn't matter. The Coriolis force is way, way too weak to effect toilet water.

Edit: OMG I forgot all about the chirality disturbance caused by the cars. Of course that will make the toilets go round the wrong way. I think neutrinos down there are probably backwards too. Only the right-handed ones contribute to weak interactions.

Answer 4

Its the way the gravity works here in Aust compared to UK, you will find that cyclones on the southern hemisphere go anti-clockwise even when heading to the equator but won't past it, that's because of the gravatational pull it causes the water on the southern hemisphere to go anti-clockise and the water on the northern hemisphere to go clock-wise.... or is it the other way round??

Michelle

Answer 5

It's because of the rotation of the earth. It only works, though, if the two toilets are identical, and not of a shape that forces the water to go a particular way round.

Answer 6

It's actually a myth.

It would take a signicantly larger volume of water before there was a difference in the direction it went around.

Answer 7

Its the theory of angular motion something to do woth the magnetic poles of the earth. On the equator it just goes straight down

Answer 8

It's purely down to the geometry of the bowl and plumbing. The Coriolis force is far to weak to have any noticeable effect whatsoever.

Answer 9

I have never quite grasped the why of it but it has to do with the rotation of the earth. In the northern hemisphere (UK) things rotate counter clockwise around a low pressure centre while in the southern hemisphere (Australia) the rotation is clockwise. Corner your physics master and get him/er to explain the why of it.

Answer 10

Because the tubes in the toilet change.