Plugholes - another illusion shattered.

[Andy in Sig]

Remember when you were at school and they told you that the water always spirals down the plughole in the same direction (i.e. clockwise or anti-clockwise, I forget which) due to a force linked to the earth's rotation? Well there's a little "did you know?" five minute science slot which pops up before the news every weekday night over here and the bloke debunked that completely. Apparently it's got loads more to do with sink design etc. and the water can happily go either way irrespective of which hemisphere you live in.

The smashing of the myth that toast falling from the table always lands jam side down was even more devastating. You may not be ready for that ...

 

[jig-sore]

you should watch QI

 

[PBancroft]

Who's going to tell Andy about the Easter Bunny?

 

[Globalti]

Er... you can actually swirl the plug water with your fingers and make it rotate in either direction.

*embarrassed nod*

 

[Keith Oates]

Remember when you were at school and they told you that the water always spirals down the plughole in the same direction (i.e. clockwise or anti-clockwise, I forget which) due to a force linked to the earth's rotation? Well there's a little "did you know?" five minute science slot which pops up before the news every weekday night over here and the bloke debunked that completely. Apparently it's got loads more to do with sink design etc. and the water can happily go either way irrespective of which hemisphere you live in.

The smashing of the myth that toast falling from the table always lands jam side down was even more devastating. You may not be ready for that ...[/QUOTE]

But Marmalade does!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[magnatom]

Oh yes. The Coriolis effect is a small effect. That is, on a small system i.e. sink plug, the effect will be overwhelmed by other factors, i.e. sink design, any movement in the water to start with etc. On larger systems i.e. weather systems the effect is large enough to be the overriding effect.

I had great fun when on Safari a number of years back when we stopped at the equator. There were locals walking from one side of the equator to the other showing how water swirling changes direction on either side. I couldn't help mention to the other tourists there how much bunkum this was (only a few of us there at the time.

I was nice though and gave them an extra big tip though

P.S. I'm a physicist!

 

[Chamfus Flange]

Not news to me. One of my fellow A level students in 1987 worked that one out in his physics project.