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Fri 13 Sep, 2019 01:47 pm
Water swirls down the plughole anti-clockwise in the Northern hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern hemisphere. Well - does it !!
Here is my explanation, do you agree ?
I am assuming that water swirl is entirely caused by Earth rotation and gravity. I see no other parameter.
As viewed from above the North Pole, the Earth rotates anticlockwise and as viewed from above the South Pole it rotates clockwise. The rotation remains in a constant direction, but the viewing reference point has changed.
Likewise if you look at a car with its front to your left, the wheels rotate anticlockwise. If you then look at it from the other side with the front to your right, the wheels rotate clockwise. Again everything remains constant except the reference point has changed.
So why does water go down the plughole anticlockwise as viewed in the Northern hemisphere and clockwise as viewed in the Southern hemisphere ?
We must look for fixed parameters. Electromagnetism is constant but variable from pole to pole. The Earth`s electromagnetic polarity completely reverses from North to South pole.
Axial rotation is a constant and gravity is a constant.
The much voiced and bandied around Coriolis Effect is utter rubbish and has been debunked many times in connection with plughole swirl. The Coriolis Effect is completely negligible when applied to the minute masses of water we have in sinks, buckets and baths. It is simply misconceived scientific hogwash.
The opposing electromagnetic polarity of the Earth`s poles makes no difference, since the electrical properties of the atomic particles which constitute water are infinitely small. So minute that water is considered a non-electric substance.
The solution is purely viewing position. Convention has us viewing Earth from the North Pole. Earth then rotates anti-clockwise and water goes down the plughole anti-clockwise. This remains constant down the axis.
Viewing from the South Pole means we have trans-versed 180 degrees and are now viewing the Earth from the South Pole. Earth now visually in relation to conventional handing rotates clockwise and the water goes down the plughole clockwise.
The plughole swirl direction phenomenon is entirely due to viewing location.
@Beaker17,
Actually, this is a myth. The way that water swirls in a drain has nothing to do with the hemisphere. It only has to do with the design of the drain.
There is the coriolis effect which impacts very large weather systems, but it is far to small to effect water in a drain.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/coriolis-effect/
@maxdancona,
Learn (or unlearn) something every day. Sometimes.
@roger,
They have a trick in Ecuador... where people run "demonstrations" with basins of water to show fascinated tourists how water runs clockwise on this side of a line drawn on the pavement representing the equator. They step 3 yards over the other side of the line and amazingly the water runs counter-clockwise.
Of course this is a performance for tips... and of course it is a clever trick. I think I consider this more performance art than outright fraud.