Community > Science & Philosophy

Topic: Blackholes
smiless Joined Wed 09/26/07 Posts: 13765	Thu 11/12/09 10:46 AM
I do know something ironic about the flushing of a toilette. In my many travels I realized that above the equater the flushing of the water goes from left to right and if I am below the equator the flushing goes from right to left. I think I got that right? I haven't been traveling much lately and forgot, but I did notice a different rotation when I did use them. Gosh this makes it sound like I spend half of my days on a toilette seat doesn't it! Anyway would this have something to do with gravity pull or is it just the toilettes have different functions, or am I going slightly insane and becoming superstitious Its not just toilets. It is sinks too. What does the equator have to do with it? Plus, what if you are right on the equator.... dead on it? coriolis effect and they don't flush exactly on the equator. I knew there was a name for it. Everything has a name in this world

Quietman_2009 Joined Wed 07/29/09 Posts: 7430	Thu 11/12/09 10:47 AM
a hurricane is just a bigazz low pressure system and they always spin counter clockwise (high pressure systems spin clockwise) in the northern hemiphere I should say in the southern hemisphere they are typhoons and spin clockwise

metalwing Joined Fri 11/14/08 Posts: 26218	Thu 11/12/09 10:48 AM
lest we forget hurricanes. Yeh right. Something about them spinning in the same direction all the time. They work just like toilets, but in reverse.

tngxl65 Joined Sat 01/12/08 Posts: 6189	Thu 11/12/09 11:00 AM
The coriolis effect isn't significant enough to affect water going down the drain. Other factors have significantly more influence. The water in a drain can spiral just as easily to the left as to the right. The pressures and resistances are not truly uniform and therefore a whirlpool is created during the draining process, in the direction of least resistance. Hurricances, however, always rotate in the same direction... or rather all above the equator rotate in one direction and all below the equator rotate the other. The side closest to the equator will be rotating toward the east, the direction of the earth's rotation. They are large enough to be more heavily influenced by the coriolis effect.

smiless Joined Wed 09/26/07 Posts: 13765	Thu 11/12/09 11:04 AM Edited by smiless on Thu 11/12/09 11:04 AM
So it is the toilette itself that determines which way the water flushes down. Well all be darned and here I am thinking it has something to do with the magnetism of the earth or perhaps this coriolis effect. Well in the end, as long as the toilette works that is the most important to me.

metalwing Joined Fri 11/14/08 Posts: 26218	Thu 11/12/09 11:17 AM
The coriolis effect isn't significant enough to affect water going down the drain. Other factors have significantly more influence. The water in a drain can spiral just as easily to the left as to the right. The pressures and resistances are not truly uniform and therefore a whirlpool is created during the draining process, in the direction of least resistance. Hurricances, however, always rotate in the same direction... or rather all above the equator rotate in one direction and all below the equator rotate the other. The side closest to the equator will be rotating toward the east, the direction of the earth's rotation. They are large enough to be more heavily influenced by the coriolis effect. You are correct on the hurricane but wrong on the toilet. When I was in Ecuador I went to the equator toilet exhibit (somewhat less fancy than the Smithsonian). They had three toilets set up, one on the equator and one on each side. The two on each side flushed normally but in opposite directions. The one in the middle, located exactly on the equator, acted like it had a turd stuck in it but was made of glass to prove that it didn't. Objects that fall on a spinning planets surface have a rotational acceleration emparted regardless of size.

Quietman_2009 Joined Wed 07/29/09 Posts: 7430	Thu 11/12/09 11:18 AM Edited by Quietman_2009 on Thu 11/12/09 11:19 AM
The coriolis effect isn't significant enough to affect water going down the drain. Other factors have significantly more influence. The water in a drain can spiral just as easily to the left as to the right. The pressures and resistances are not truly uniform and therefore a whirlpool is created during the draining process, in the direction of least resistance. Hurricances, however, always rotate in the same direction... or rather all above the equator rotate in one direction and all below the equator rotate the other. The side closest to the equator will be rotating toward the east, the direction of the earth's rotation. They are large enough to be more heavily influenced by the coriolis effect. You are correct on the hurricane but wrong on the toilet. When I was in Ecuador I went to the equator toilet exhibit (somewhat less fancy than the Smithsonian). They had three toilets set up, one on the equator and one on each side. The two on each side flushed normally but in opposite directions. The one in the middle, located exactly on the equator, acted like it had a turd stuck in it but was made of glass to prove that it didn't. Objects that fall on a spinning planets surface have a rotational acceleration emparted regardless of size. cool you said turd

Jeanniebean Joined Wed 01/30/08 Posts: 40028	Thu 11/12/09 11:19 AM
The coriolis effect isn't significant enough to affect water going down the drain. Other factors have significantly more influence. The water in a drain can spiral just as easily to the left as to the right. The pressures and resistances are not truly uniform and therefore a whirlpool is created during the draining process, in the direction of least resistance. Hurricances, however, always rotate in the same direction... or rather all above the equator rotate in one direction and all below the equator rotate the other. The side closest to the equator will be rotating toward the east, the direction of the earth's rotation. They are large enough to be more heavily influenced by the coriolis effect. So you say. But now every time I flush a toilet or drain a sink or bathtub I'm going to be right there staring at it, just like my cats. (For some reason they are also fascinated with this subject.)

Jeanniebean Joined Wed 01/30/08 Posts: 40028	Thu 11/12/09 11:30 AM Edited by Jeanniebean on Thu 11/12/09 11:31 AM
The coriolis effect isn't significant enough to affect water going down the drain. Other factors have significantly more influence. The water in a drain can spiral just as easily to the left as to the right. The pressures and resistances are not truly uniform and therefore a whirlpool is created during the draining process, in the direction of least resistance. Hurricances, however, always rotate in the same direction... or rather all above the equator rotate in one direction and all below the equator rotate the other. The side closest to the equator will be rotating toward the east, the direction of the earth's rotation. They are large enough to be more heavily influenced by the coriolis effect. You are correct on the hurricane but wrong on the toilet. When I was in Ecuador I went to the equator toilet exhibit (somewhat less fancy than the Smithsonian). They had three toilets set up, one on the equator and one on each side. The two on each side flushed normally but in opposite directions. The one in the middle, located exactly on the equator, acted like it had a turd stuck in it but was made of glass to prove that it didn't. Objects that fall on a spinning planets surface have a rotational acceleration emparted regardless of size. Really??? Fascinating!! I just flushed my toilet and I expected it to swirl and drain clockwise but it swirled counter clock wise. It looked like the jets of the toilet itself were contributing to that direction, but it is hard to tell. I then filled up a dish pan of water to pour into the toilet so there were no jets to influence the water. ....counter clockwise. Then I tried the kitchen sink... twice. It drains real slow so it was hard to tell. I had to put a floaty on the surface of the water and the direction of the swirl was only seen at the very end. IT WAS COUNTER CLOCKWISE. Then, I tried another toilet in my mom's house.. Counter clock wise. Then the bathroom sink, counter clockwise. Okay is that enough? I'm wasting a lot of water here.

SkyHook5652 Joined Sat 08/23/08 Posts: 4063	Thu 11/12/09 11:35 AM
Ok, here I go… Consider the rotation of the earth. As it rotates, the equator is moving faster than the poles (relative to the center of the earth). That is, a point on the equator will take 24 hours to go 24,000 miles (the circumference of the entire earth) whereas a point 10 feet from the pole will take 24 hour to move only about 60 feet (Circumference = 3.14*Diameter). Now as the earth rotates, it “drags” the atmosphere along with it. So we have air moving at different speeds depending on where it is on the earth. Thus if we pick a single spot on the earth, the air on it’s equatorial side is moving faster than the air on its pole side. Now let’s switch from there to a different example. If you take a pencil, place it in you flattened palm, place the other flattened palm on top of it, and then move one of the hands, the pencil will “spin”. So if we look back at the earth/air example, we can compare it to the pencil example… The air on the equatorial side is the moving hand (faster), the air on the pole side is the unmoving hand (slower), and the spinning of the pencil is the spinning of air that makes up a cyclone/hurricane. This is why cyclones/hurricanes “spin” in different directions depending on whether they’re north or south of the equator – the relative speeds of the air currents that cause the spin are on different sides of the center of spin. And from a wider perspective, this same effect is what causes the “trade winds”. However, as tngxl65 noted, the forces of this effect on a toilet are so infinitesimal that they really have no bearing on the direction of spin of the water going down the drain.

Jeanniebean Joined Wed 01/30/08 Posts: 40028	Thu 11/12/09 11:38 AM
Ok, here I go… Consider the rotation of the earth. As it rotates, the equator is moving faster than the poles (relative to the center of the earth). That is, a point on the equator will take 24 hours to go 24,000 miles (the circumference of the entire earth) whereas a point 10 feet from the pole will take 24 hour to move only about 60 feet (Circumference = 3.14*Diameter). Now as the earth rotates, it “drags” the atmosphere along with it. So we have air moving at different speeds depending on where it is on the earth. Thus if we pick a single spot on the earth, the air on it’s equatorial side is moving faster than the air on its pole side. Now let’s switch from there to a different example. If you take a pencil, place it in you flattened palm, place the other flattened palm on top of it, and then move one of the hands, the pencil will “spin”. So if we look back at the earth/air example, we can compare it to the pencil example… The air on the equatorial side is the moving hand (faster), the air on the pole side is the unmoving hand (slower), and the spinning of the pencil is the spinning of air that makes up a cyclone/hurricane. This is why cyclones/hurricanes “spin” in different directions depending on whether they’re north or south of the equator – the relative speeds of the air currents that cause the spin are on different sides of the center of spin. And from a wider perspective, this same effect is what causes the “trade winds”. However, as tngxl65 noted, the forces of this effect on a toilet are so infinitesimal that they really have no bearing on the direction of spin of the water going down the drain. Okay then why do all my experiments come up ... counter clockwise? Anyone else care to do some experiments? I live in Colorado.

SkyHook5652 Joined Sat 08/23/08 Posts: 4063	Thu 11/12/09 11:49 AM Edited by SkyHook5652 on Thu 11/12/09 11:50 AM
Ok, here I go… Consider the rotation of the earth. As it rotates, the equator is moving faster than the poles (relative to the center of the earth). That is, a point on the equator will take 24 hours to go 24,000 miles (the circumference of the entire earth) whereas a point 10 feet from the pole will take 24 hour to move only about 60 feet (Circumference = 3.14*Diameter). Now as the earth rotates, it “drags” the atmosphere along with it. So we have air moving at different speeds depending on where it is on the earth. Thus if we pick a single spot on the earth, the air on it’s equatorial side is moving faster than the air on its pole side. Now let’s switch from there to a different example. If you take a pencil, place it in you flattened palm, place the other flattened palm on top of it, and then move one of the hands, the pencil will “spin”. So if we look back at the earth/air example, we can compare it to the pencil example… The air on the equatorial side is the moving hand (faster), the air on the pole side is the unmoving hand (slower), and the spinning of the pencil is the spinning of air that makes up a cyclone/hurricane. This is why cyclones/hurricanes “spin” in different directions depending on whether they’re north or south of the equator – the relative speeds of the air currents that cause the spin are on different sides of the center of spin. And from a wider perspective, this same effect is what causes the “trade winds”. However, as tngxl65 noted, the forces of this effect on a toilet are so infinitesimal that they really have no bearing on the direction of spin of the water going down the drain. Okay then why do all my experiments come up ... counter clockwise? Possible explanation - three words: "Law of Attraction." (Or two words: "Creating Reality") And you know that's not sarcastic, coming from me.

Dan99 Joined Sat 08/23/08 Posts: 14941	Thu 11/12/09 11:50 AM
In a nutshell... Yo momma is so fat. If she gained another pound, she would collapse in on herself and become a black hole.

metalwing Joined Fri 11/14/08 Posts: 26218	Thu 11/12/09 12:03 PM
And stars spin just like planets. As the material falls into the core to become a black hole, the matter is subjected to the same angular momentum effects (Corilius) as here on the spinning Earth. Toilet science at it's finest. No $hit.

tngxl65 Joined Sat 01/12/08 Posts: 6189	Thu 11/12/09 12:10 PM
The coriolis effect isn't significant enough to affect water going down the drain. Other factors have significantly more influence. The water in a drain can spiral just as easily to the left as to the right. The pressures and resistances are not truly uniform and therefore a whirlpool is created during the draining process, in the direction of least resistance. Hurricances, however, always rotate in the same direction... or rather all above the equator rotate in one direction and all below the equator rotate the other. The side closest to the equator will be rotating toward the east, the direction of the earth's rotation. They are large enough to be more heavily influenced by the coriolis effect. You are correct on the hurricane but wrong on the toilet. When I was in Ecuador I went to the equator toilet exhibit (somewhat less fancy than the Smithsonian). They had three toilets set up, one on the equator and one on each side. The two on each side flushed normally but in opposite directions. The one in the middle, located exactly on the equator, acted like it had a turd stuck in it but was made of glass to prove that it didn't. Objects that fall on a spinning planets surface have a rotational acceleration emparted regardless of size. Not what I was taught in physics. http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=516 Obviously this isn't necessarily a definitive source, but at least it's from Cornell, lol.

metalwing Joined Fri 11/14/08 Posts: 26218	Thu 11/12/09 12:18 PM
Ok, here I go… Consider the rotation of the earth. As it rotates, the equator is moving faster than the poles (relative to the center of the earth). That is, a point on the equator will take 24 hours to go 24,000 miles (the circumference of the entire earth) whereas a point 10 feet from the pole will take 24 hour to move only about 60 feet (Circumference = 3.14*Diameter). Now as the earth rotates, it “drags” the atmosphere along with it. So we have air moving at different speeds depending on where it is on the earth. Thus if we pick a single spot on the earth, the air on it’s equatorial side is moving faster than the air on its pole side. Now let’s switch from there to a different example. If you take a pencil, place it in you flattened palm, place the other flattened palm on top of it, and then move one of the hands, the pencil will “spin”. So if we look back at the earth/air example, we can compare it to the pencil example… The air on the equatorial side is the moving hand (faster), the air on the pole side is the unmoving hand (slower), and the spinning of the pencil is the spinning of air that makes up a cyclone/hurricane. This is why cyclones/hurricanes “spin” in different directions depending on whether they’re north or south of the equator – the relative speeds of the air currents that cause the spin are on different sides of the center of spin. And from a wider perspective, this same effect is what causes the “trade winds”. However, as tngxl65 noted, the forces of this effect on a toilet are so infinitesimal that they really have no bearing on the direction of spin of the water going down the drain. The trade winds and North, South, East, or West movement of the air have nothing to do with the rotational movement of a hurricane. The effect is caused by the movement of air up or down. Low pressure areas like hurricanes always spin in the same direction (on it's respective side of the equator) because the air is going UP. High pressure areas are always going in the opposite direction because the air is falling down. This is one of the most dominate facts to know in understanding aviation weather. Not only is it what causes hurricanes, it is what stops them. As soon as the hurricane is removed from it's source of power, i.e., rising low pressure air, it starts to die.

SkyHook5652 Joined Sat 08/23/08 Posts: 4063	Thu 11/12/09 12:23 PM
The coriolis effect isn't significant enough to affect water going down the drain. Other factors have significantly more influence. The water in a drain can spiral just as easily to the left as to the right. The pressures and resistances are not truly uniform and therefore a whirlpool is created during the draining process, in the direction of least resistance. Hurricances, however, always rotate in the same direction... or rather all above the equator rotate in one direction and all below the equator rotate the other. The side closest to the equator will be rotating toward the east, the direction of the earth's rotation. They are large enough to be more heavily influenced by the coriolis effect. You are correct on the hurricane but wrong on the toilet. When I was in Ecuador I went to the equator toilet exhibit (somewhat less fancy than the Smithsonian). They had three toilets set up, one on the equator and one on each side. The two on each side flushed normally but in opposite directions. The one in the middle, located exactly on the equator, acted like it had a turd stuck in it but was made of glass to prove that it didn't. Objects that fall on a spinning planets surface have a rotational acceleration emparted regardless of size. Well let's put it this way... Mathematically speaking, there is not enough distance between the two sides of the toilet bowl for the earths spin to create enough of a corolis effect to overcome the inherent turbulence in the water in the bowl. So whatever it is that caused the toilet whirpools, it is most unlikely that it was the coriolis effect.

SkyHook5652 Joined Sat 08/23/08 Posts: 4063	Thu 11/12/09 12:33 PM Edited by SkyHook5652 on Thu 11/12/09 12:36 PM
Ok, here I go… Consider the rotation of the earth. As it rotates, the equator is moving faster than the poles (relative to the center of the earth). That is, a point on the equator will take 24 hours to go 24,000 miles (the circumference of the entire earth) whereas a point 10 feet from the pole will take 24 hour to move only about 60 feet (Circumference = 3.14*Diameter). Now as the earth rotates, it “drags” the atmosphere along with it. So we have air moving at different speeds depending on where it is on the earth. Thus if we pick a single spot on the earth, the air on it’s equatorial side is moving faster than the air on its pole side. Now let’s switch from there to a different example. If you take a pencil, place it in you flattened palm, place the other flattened palm on top of it, and then move one of the hands, the pencil will “spin”. So if we look back at the earth/air example, we can compare it to the pencil example… The air on the equatorial side is the moving hand (faster), the air on the pole side is the unmoving hand (slower), and the spinning of the pencil is the spinning of air that makes up a cyclone/hurricane. This is why cyclones/hurricanes “spin” in different directions depending on whether they’re north or south of the equator – the relative speeds of the air currents that cause the spin are on different sides of the center of spin. And from a wider perspective, this same effect is what causes the “trade winds”. However, as tngxl65 noted, the forces of this effect on a toilet are so infinitesimal that they really have no bearing on the direction of spin of the water going down the drain. The trade winds and North, South, East, or West movement of the air have nothing to do with the rotational movement of a hurricane. The effect is caused by the movement of air up or down. Low pressure areas like hurricanes always spin in the same direction (on it's respective side of the equator) because the air is going UP. High pressure areas are always going in the opposite direction because the air is falling down. This is one of the most dominate facts to know in understanding aviation weather. Not only is it what causes hurricanes, it is what stops them. As soon as the hurricane is removed from it's source of power, i.e., rising low pressure air, it starts to die. Maybe I need to clarify. The horizontal circular motion of the trades winds is a result of the coriolis effect, just as the horizontal circular motion of hurricanes is a result of the coriolis effect. It is the vertical motion of the air that "pumps energy into" a hurricane. But it is the corilois effect that gives it it's horizontal "spin". If there were no rotation of the earth to give them "spin" through the coriolis effect, the trade winds would only move vertically, instead of horizontally.

metalwing Joined Fri 11/14/08 Posts: 26218	Thu 11/12/09 12:42 PM
I just checked my sinks. From a standing start they both form counter clockwise whirlpools 100% of the time with no jets to influence them. I admit the forces involved are small but since it is 100% accurate, what is the "other" explanation?

Jeanniebean Joined Wed 01/30/08 Posts: 40028	Thu 11/12/09 12:49 PM Edited by Jeanniebean on Thu 11/12/09 12:50 PM
Ok, here I go… Consider the rotation of the earth. As it rotates, the equator is moving faster than the poles (relative to the center of the earth). That is, a point on the equator will take 24 hours to go 24,000 miles (the circumference of the entire earth) whereas a point 10 feet from the pole will take 24 hour to move only about 60 feet (Circumference = 3.14*Diameter). Now as the earth rotates, it “drags” the atmosphere along with it. So we have air moving at different speeds depending on where it is on the earth. Thus if we pick a single spot on the earth, the air on it’s equatorial side is moving faster than the air on its pole side. Now let’s switch from there to a different example. If you take a pencil, place it in you flattened palm, place the other flattened palm on top of it, and then move one of the hands, the pencil will “spin”. So if we look back at the earth/air example, we can compare it to the pencil example… The air on the equatorial side is the moving hand (faster), the air on the pole side is the unmoving hand (slower), and the spinning of the pencil is the spinning of air that makes up a cyclone/hurricane. This is why cyclones/hurricanes “spin” in different directions depending on whether they’re north or south of the equator – the relative speeds of the air currents that cause the spin are on different sides of the center of spin. And from a wider perspective, this same effect is what causes the “trade winds”. However, as tngxl65 noted, the forces of this effect on a toilet are so infinitesimal that they really have no bearing on the direction of spin of the water going down the drain. Okay then why do all my experiments come up ... counter clockwise? Possible explanation - three words: "Law of Attraction." (Or two words: "Creating Reality") And you know that's not sarcastic, coming from me. I don't think so because I fully expected them to go the other direction. So how it is the "law of attraction?" If I was that good, I would start playing craps.