I think I read one study in Scientific American or Omni (back when I was
into science years ago) and the other in the newspaper. We had two sinks in
our old house that drained clockwise and the others counter clock-wise (and
none are guaranteed to do either, factors such as water content, things in the
sink, etc seem to affect it) I haven't checked this new house out yet. I
remember (in the articles) that the biggest factor was the shape of the basin,
the level of it, the directional alignment, the design of the exit portal, and
the finish of the surface, again according to what I remember. As far as I
remember, the studies were limited to small basins and not larger ones.
Whatever the propensity is for direction, I would think that the global spin
would only come into play as a factor in the equation, not an end all to it.
Hurricanes and Tornadoes are large weather events and are directly affected
by global spin (as I've already said), but, what about a Hurricane spawned in
the southern hemisphere and going to the northern one, does it retain it
southern hemisphere spin, or does it reverse? Most east coast hurricanes are
spawned off the coast of africa near the equator, above and below it so there
are many examples of it, and what direction do the tornadoes spin that it
spawns off?
I had always believed the explaination you are supporting and never really
paid much attention to it until I saw those two articles. I still feel to the
major extent that the earths spin does make things tend to go one way, but I
feel other factors can make it go the other way. I've proven it to myself
with the bathtub. I watched the natural vortex then stopped it. I started
the water (manually) rotating the other direction and let the water drain
again. Sure enough, I had reversed the vortex. Unless I end up with way too
much time on my hands I'm going to toss it into the mysteries of life category
and not really care about it anymore.
Shaun H.
--- original message ---
Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 19:25:54 -0600
From: mrdancer <mrdancer@camalott.com>
Subject: DML: Re: RE:DML TB Spacers
What about when you drain a bathtub, or when water drains out of a hole in a
bucket, or other basin? The whirlpool created is always counter-clockwise,
as are tornados and hurricanes in the northern hemisphere. Also,
limnological studies have shown that in larger lakes, waves will be
deflected at a 45-degree angle to the wind.
As far as whether it affects small stuff? Well, you can stand an egg on its
end on the equator, as well as anywhere in the world during the vernal and
autumnal equinoxes (equinoxii?). Hmmm, wonder if you could get reverse
rotation out of a whirlpool during the equinox? Anyway, I would be
interested in those studies. Do you have a source for them?
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