If water turns in opposite directions down the sink depending on which hemisphere your in......?

Question

What does it do if you live slap bang on the equator?

ok then hypothetically.... all sinks are the same shape and they dont effect the flow of water. what would happen?

Answer 1

It doesn't the Coriolis force only works with large systems it depends upon the fact that the side nearest the equator is moving at a different speed to the opposite side, can you imagine that the two or three inches involved in a sink is going to be affected

Answer 2

It goes straight down without turning either way, though it can be affected by the shape of the sink.

Years ago in Kenya, there was a boy who lived near the equator and made a fortune from tourists. All he had was a bucket with a hole in it, and some matchsticks.

He would stand in the northern hemisphere, fill the bucket with water, chuck a couple of matches in, and invite people to watch the matches. Then he'd walk a few yards down the road into the southern hemisphere, and do the same. Of course, the matches went the other way round. To crown it, he'd then stand with one foot either side of the equator (which was marked with a line for the tourists), and the matches stayed where they were.

I'll bet he's a millionaire by now!

Answer 3

You are right to mention the equator! For once this is a smart question about the colioris effect!


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 4

The Coreolis Effect (sp?), which influences the way water turns when it goes down the drain, is very small -- so it's very easy to get the water to go any direction you want just by swirling it with your hand.

Smack dab at the equator, the effect is even smaller, so the water will pick a direction to swirl based on other factors (local wind, shape of the drain, etc). Technically, water could flow directly down the drain in a non-swirling funnel, but that's like balancing a pencil on its tip -- everything has to be absolutely perfect for it to work, so you'll never see it happen naturally.

Answer 5

As shown on "Braniac: Science Abuse", the shape of the sink and the plughole affects the direction of the water more than the coreolis effect; with water being able to go both ways in both hemispheres, depending on the container.

Answer 6

See my other answer. The coriolis effect is too weak to affect toilet water. There is, however, a scam artist in Kenya with an exhibit that will convince you otherwise if you are stupid.

If you want to talk coriolis, talk about weather. in the north, things rotate clockwise. In the south, counterclockwise. There is a stretch of doldrums near the equator where there isn't much wind at all.

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 7

I think your question falls apart at the first word....IF. Water doesn't flow down a drain according to the hemispherical location. It is all to do with the design of the sink and the plumbing.

Answer 8

Bekki B is right ... I have traveled extensively in both hemispheres, and have seen for myself that the coriolis effect does nothing for water. The shape of the basin has much more influence.

Answer 9

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Answer 10

No, it would not. the way the water spins is thoroughly based on the form and length of the bowl the drain is in. I questioned this myself those days and appeared everywhere in the internet searching for the respond. The water on the equator additionally spins in accordance to bowl length and shape.