SinkScience #08 - Beauty of the Vortex

[YehielGotkis]

Limiting the size of your developments both in horizontal and in vertical propagating space you kill the most interesting vortex developments, namely the upper double spiral waves and the lower, beyond the bottom double spiral (see my clips about the reasonably unlimited vortex developments published under YehielGotkis

[Dunkulous]

@MrfixitRick You bitch

[fatpeople249er]

Put a water proof camra in there awesome

[GrazyScientist123]

I love your videos! I´m also very interested this kind of things, and you´ve gaved to me so much ideas for my systems....

[matteoxD100]

gurgle, gurgle, gurgle!

[rjravaz]

amazing

[livetrueblue]

I would like to make a large vortex using a 14 inch diameter x 6 ft tall acrylic tube for a children's museum. I am thinking about a variable speed motor mounted vertically with a metal bar welded to the shaft and a long cylinder magnet in the actual tube. Similar to a magnetic stirrer but obviously in a much larger scale. I would like the kids to be able to move a ball up and down the vortex with the variable speed motor. What do you think of this idea? I was thinking a 3000 rpm motor.

[MrfixitRick]

@livetrueblue

Have a look at my 3 movies featuring the "Tesla Tornado" water vortex generator. I use a 6 inch by 30 inch tube to do what you suggest.

I used six magnets on spaced CD's, as the stirrer inside the tube. I used a 12 volt auto blower motor as the driver with 6 magnets in its flywheel.

My magnets use repel mode, rather than attracting as you suggest. Either way will work. I had to use a suction cup to keep the discs on the bottom.

It will suspend a lightbulb in the vortex!

[MrfixitRick]

@livetrueblue

Your idea should work. The long cylinder magnet may be a bit noisy on the bottom of the cylinder and wear on there. The magnet will have to be strong to maintain the magnetic connection under load and rpm's.

Consider making a Tesla Pump (using a set of discs like CD's) at the bottom of the tube. That way, you can be educating kids about Nikola Tesla's wonderful Disc Turbine/Pump...and recycling CD's at the same time!

[Nomoreidsleft]

The video last for 4:33, but real time was 2 hours. You've just invented a time machine!

[sespear86]

Was there any water displacement when the vortex formed? looked like the water level stayed the same the whole time. Might be some cool science to it if it didn't raise the water level when formed.

[MrfixitRick]

@sespear86

Yes, there is displacement. To prove this idea, see my video, "Tesla Tornado Tube Christmas Tree" with a giant vortex that "tops out" !

[Abletoroll]

3:05-3:51 is the beginning of a DMT trip.

[SpryoRuLes]

why donnt you drop something in it =(

[bigtack11]

i can do tht without the machine i used to ginger ale bottles and a tornado tube

[Bhuy5]

Cool

[DylanMCoD4]

Nice Work Dude.

[tessaring]

Hey that looks really cool! Beautiful with the DVD colours! But what I don't understand: you are using waterfaucetpower to turn the waterbucket. What is Tesla about that?

[MrfixitRick]

@tessaring

Waterpower turns the discs inside the Tesla turbine, which rests under the vortex chamber. In turn, the Tesla Turbine is magnetically coupled to a Tesla Pump inside the vortex chamber.

A Tesla Turbine is unique because it has no cups or blades, just smooth discs.

Tesla patented his turbine and pump around 1909, and said in his autobiography that his turbine is "the greatest of all my inventions". See wikipedia under, "Tesla Turbine".

[Sterretraan]

I'd love to see how the tesla cd turbine is build .. pity your site doesn't work.

Very nice videoos btw .. love the magnetism everywhere !

[MrfixitRick]

@Sterretraan

Sorry about the cdturbine website; it's under construction!

Full build instructions for the award-winning Tesla CD Turbine are available at the Instructables website under "mrfixits", or follow the link in this video's "more info" box.

[Mattykrt2]

what will happend If we'll a fish in there?

[ric4022]

This reminds me of the vortex wormhole that King David saw in psalms 18.

[maleiva]

i see the singularity, very cool.

[jamesoleruster]

I wonder how well it makes Koolaid.

[cramtoro]

3:21 trully amazing :D

[leonidhaimov]

How to do it again? The engine? More details please

[allowacan]

by the way, I tried visiting the cdturbine website you linked in the description but all I get is a username and password request

[MrfixitRick]

@allowacan

Thanks for the reminder. I need to rebuild that site.

[allowacan]

Hey there, great work. I just want to know how many rpm's the discs spin at to create that vortex. I'm into fountains and want to incorporate this into a drinking fountain I've got in mind. I'll probably use an electric motor to spin the flywheel, I just want to get an idea of how powerful a motor I should get. Know any cool cheap way of spinning the flywheel without an electric motor?

[MrfixitRick]

@allowacan

The discs spin somewhere around 800 -1000 rpm.

I used an electric motor from a Subaru car heater in my other "Tesla Tornado" videos. It has a magnetic flywheel that magnetically coupled to the disc pack inside a 3 foot tall clear tube.

[OerAnime]

when the sound became louder i half expected a monster mouth to appear and start slurping the camera closer

[MrfixitRick]

@OerAnime

Beauty becomes the Beast...of the Vortex!

[1dolar1note1]

you got 1 sub more :D

[D2zee]

Believe it or not but this is a key to understanding gravity and atomic structure

[ShirakOmegaX]

That was a really good demo thanks for sharing.

[XTheSonofTheSunX]

great experiment!

i'm building a double vortex device, i saw on another video, but, i'm also gonna check yours out, and build it as well!

thanx for sharin, tesla would be proud!

om shanti

[YellowMellowJello]

i am so scared of these things lol

[MrfixitRick]

@YellowMellowJello

Perhaps the vortex reminds us of the essential and powerful forces of creation and destruction within the universe....

The vortex shape is reflected in the very largest structures of the universe...galaxies where stars are born, through to the very smallest atomic particles, which some physicists imply are merely whirling magnetic vortexes.

[YellowMellowJello]

@MrfixitRick Maybe. That's great thinking. Good upload, as well!

[0151pri88]

thats neat, someone should make these and put them in lamps or something they would become very rich, every kid and big kid would have one in there room

[ihavetoshutthewindow]

mine is going to be based on a water pump sucking the water down and it cumming out the top at the same time!!!!!!!! yes ya!!!!! i want a small one

[legobaxter]

put your hand in it (or a small ball that floats)

[hyperdude217]

teach me how to make 1 list all equipment

[MrfixitRick]

@hyperdude217

Click on the Instructables link in the "more info" to go to my Instructables site with turbine building info. Go to the "SinkScience With The Tesla CD Turbine" instructable.

Let me know if any questions!

[KGEstrive4perfection]

wow this is sick!!! but i'm a bit lost, u have a magnetic coupler on some cd's that have no propellers, and u rotate the magnetic base but cd's don't just stick to the bottom nor ware a whole in the plastic? i am actually wanting to build a large vortex lamp for my nephew, and i was going to to with some form of pump but im just mystified by the idea of a round flat surface can turn water like that.

[MrfixitRick]

@KGEstrive4perfection

It's a strange and wondrous thing to see a bunch of discs work so well. That is why Tesla called his disc turbine "the greatest of all my inventions" !

My idea is to add magnets to the discs for a magnetic coupling. My big secret is to use repulsing magnet poles, rather than attracting poles, in the coupling.

See my Tesla Tornado videos for a really big version of this!

[zafisto]

if u were to say drop a coin or a needle into the center would it just fall to the bottom? without hitting water until it hit the bottom?

[MrfixitRick]

@zafisto

If you dropped the item dead centre, it would fall through the air until it hit the water part of the vortex. A very fast water vortex might make the air inside spin some too, but there is stillness at the very centre of a cyclone.

[MegaStreetjumper]

looks a bit like a black hole :D

[roejames12]

I don't feel like putting my hand in that.. It looks... Dangerous.. Feels like I'd get sucked in. :/

[DavidTheGiantOfNY]

i love it

[seriousamm]

put a bug in it lol

[alishows50]

what happens if u put ur finger in there

[cabanayan2]

what would hapend if yu put ur hand in it

[MrfixitRick]

@cabanayan2

It feels about the same as if you put your hand in the toilet vortex, or bathtub drain vortex...you can feel it, but it's not about to suck you in!

The vortex temporarily changes shape, but rebounds quickly when the hand is withdrawn.

[paintballgundown8]

@MrfixitRick ill have to stick my hand in the toilet and flush so i can see what you mean

[MrfixitRick]

@paintballgundown8

ya gotta be careful...rumour has it that toilets may be a source of some missing persons!!

[onlymassiss]

it goes the wrong way!

[Fikisko]

ASWOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dhatgiselle]

this guy cant keep the camera still and looking at the whole thing -_-

[ilikecheeze111]

you should make a video of you dropping a penny or something like that into the vortex

[ekoslosky]

U should do that in a swimming pool, The whirlpool would be bigger then!

[vickty007]

i know an easyer way search mah videos and look 4 how to make a water vortex

[MrfixitRick]

@vickty007

Thanks for your contribution to the world of vortexes!

[rrpisti22]

just add a mini flashlight and it will looked like a Blackhole!!!

[cutenukkah]

wheeee tornado

[smallshinyant]

Brillant, i had to go off and look up what this was all about but i think i need to have a go. cool science :)

[latto101]

Awesome vid, quiet informative as well.

[pokemonpokemen]

Behold! The new Lava Lamp!

[Dvoracekmara]

Nice!!!!!*s

[hhmm89]

put a drop of food colouring in there wen the vortex is fully formed

[iwan0t0smith]

From my understanding the reason the aluminium tin spun was due to the changing magnetic field (from the turbine) inducing a current in the tin which hence induced a magnetic field in the tin which opposed the motion of the turbine and hence caused the tin to rotate.

So if you filled the CD cover with salty water would you get something similar, given that salty water is a conductor of electricity?

Should be pretty easy for you to find out :)

[suusjuh123]

try to put fishies in there xD

just kiddin :P

[dan020350]

i love it :)

[killman369547]

i also have an ide on what source of pressure to hook it up to if the new one can handle it hook it to a pressure washer

[MrfixitRick]

@killman369547

Yes, a pressure washer could make this thing sing! It could also blow up the case if one is not careful. That can even happen with faucet water pressure...See my video called "Tesla CD Turbine Bursts On Kitchen Table"

watch?v=EXo3e58rZ7U

[killman369547]

@MrfixitRick good point but if it holds up u could do some cool things with it

[MrfixitRick]

@killman369547

You bet! ...and thanks for the comments!

[killman369547]

@MrfixitRick no prob btw ur vids are cool im subscribing

[Electronicliger]

@MrfixitRick you rock

[killman369547]

u should put a lil boat or something in there next time when i build a new turbine

[Hansolo60]

Standing waves formed?

[Subspace4d]

If you are interested in this then look in internet abought occult chemistry.

[Hansolo60]

@Subspace4d,

Why chemistry?

[Subspace4d]

The occult chemistry is abought atoms and their nucleaous and it consist also of those small vortex that runs in vaccum. The aether is a suprafuild medium and the atoms are a vortex.

[erehwyrevekool]

very nice!

[ReikaiDemon]

I wonder if you got it cold enough, it would freeze the water in that shape....

[TopGun904]

The friction between the magnetic coupler, the cd case and the motor would create heat, which you'll need really cold temperatures to freeze.

[Snoxie]

@TopGun904 ... moving water doesn't freeze. Even if it was super super cold, the faster it moves, the more unlikely it would be to freeze.

[TopGun904]

Well it can't be any faster than 'Rick' can make it go.

[flagman57]

it takes a lot of energy to freeze any liquid in motion

probably colder than liquid nitrogen depending on the speed

[aghachi]

that would be cool but i think you need like instant freeze cuz all that movement probably creates heat.

[ReikaiDemon]

Yeah, now that I think of it, I think it would stop being a vortex if it wasn't cold enough, fast enough. If it did work though, it would make a neat thing to drink out of :D

[gatoradeee]

@ReikaiDemon i doubt it, too much kinetic energy in a vortex

[KRYSISJAG]

nOW PUT SOME gOLD FISH IN THERE..HEHEHE...make sure its the seek adventure type ones : ) nice vids

[MrfixitRick]

"make sure it's the seek adventure type ones" hahaha

Thanks for the idea, lol!

[JaksProductions]

@MrfixitRick drop some dry ice inside while it spinning, it should freeze.... if you throw enough of it inside. Try it and film it thx!

[MrfixitRick]

Good suggestion, thanks! I'll have to build a new SinkScience turbine 'cause this one blew it's top in the blender bursting movie.

[JaksProductions]

@MrfixitRick cool, I'd really enjoy to watch how a vortex freezes! ohh and u got a new subb =P

[jamesoleruster]

Put the new turbine in a bath tub doing the same thing as here with some leaves, twigs, glitter, small pebbles, and a lego man

[MrfixitRick]

You must build a CD Turbine so you can try all your good ideas! Hehe

I had this turbine in my kitchen sink for over a year and it worked flawlessly for all kinds of fun.

[jamesoleruster]

you can see the swirling force lines of the vortex

[jamesoleruster]

Add some soap and glitter. It will look like a real tornado. The glitter will act as the base dust cloud and the soap (witch will produce suds) suds will make it look like a funnel cloud. Be sure not to overdo anything because first, if you use dish soap and add too much, the water will change color and foaming soap will produce too many suds, if the throttle is too high it will make the water look like suddy milk and too much glitter will block the side view. make a video of it and upload it.

[MrfixitRick]

Good suggestions! Unfortunately this turbine blew it's top and is no longer in service. (See "Tesla CD Turbine Bursts On Kitchen Table" ;)

However, I will try a new Vortex experiment with a new turbine and 3 foot vortex tube soon.

[jamesoleruster]

use the new turbine, maybe you could add some black coloring to the soap and it will look like a scary tornado

[mk0frosty]

3:40 AaaaAAaaaa! Don't eats mee!! :">

[jamesoleruster]

Turn off the turnbine and record what happens to the vortex on video and upload it to YouTube.

[MrfixitRick]

The vortex just slows down and disappears. The turbine runs a bit longer than usual from the momentum of the vortex and magnetic coupler.

[hi99995]

jump in it see what happends :)

[castingcrownsROCK]

stupefy!

[SuperGonggong]

awsome, reminds me of my meth lab...

[dreamscape21]

SWEET!

[LiAk0sW4y]

Excellent, good sir!

[yelyarb]

You're the kind of guy I want to give a huge high-five to! Keep making awesome videos!

[djrobeat]

idiot

[deadlyteror]

wow cool

[kasetheguru]

Foood cloring

[aoakampfer]

Have you ever considered putting glittery stuff into the vortex and then somehow mounting LEDs to rotate?

This thing would make an amazing lamp, though I think it would be very impractical.

[aoakampfer]

Also, What RPMs were you at while achieving the vortex?

[DancingSpiderman]

And get some green houses and red hotels from the Monopoly game, and drop them in a few at a time, reminds us of Tornado Alley

[yelyarb]

Impractical...

or im-practically-the-awesomest-i­dea-ever?

[pikmin257]

i was hoping you were gonna throw something down there XD

[MrfixitRick]

I will have another vortex movie soon that will feature a 3 foot tall vortex, complete with things thrown in!

[pikmin257]

throw someones Nintendo DSi down there!!!!!!!!! just don't throw mine XD

[phiphers]

what would happen if u closed the top leaving no air inside the vase... would the vortex be, be smaller, no be appreciated...

[MrfixitRick]

The resulting vortex shape would depend on the speed of the liquid inside the vase. With a sealed top like you suggest, the Tesla disc "pump" would have to go very fast to make a cavitation vapor bubble inside. But it could be done.

That would be a good experiment with a faster rpm than with the faucet water pressure driving the CD turbine seen here.

I will be doing some work with a 3 foot tall vortex soon...perhaps I will try that!

[lostFONdrive65]

that would be a great decoration inside my room.... *_*

[morpher44]

Your Tesla Turbine stuff is great. I was thinking about your videos today and got the funny idea that you should use baking-soda and vinegar under high pressure to turn your turbine.

[MrfixitRick]

Not bad, I like the idea! A Tesla turbine hooked up to a fire extinguisher...

[DJKloop]

so the bermuda triangle could be a secret cd dumping ground ?

[MrfixitRick]

Yes, and the CD's dance at night to their own music, creating huge whirlpools.

[alpacks]

black hole singularity modelised ?

une singularité de trou noir modélisée ?

je trouve ça représente bien la déformation spatiale qu'induisent les singularités ultra dense des trous noirs ... bien que bon on sait pas tout non plus la dessus

[MrfixitRick]

absolument !

[chubeviewer]

wemake vortexe's in my paddling pool but its actuly quite big its 100cm tall 1 metre and the diametre is very big we get 15 ppl in a pool al run around it for 1 minute then stop and theres a little vortex in the middle strong enough to spin us round

[MrfixitRick]

That's wonderful! Haha!

You should do a video and attach it to mine as a video response...it would likely go viral!

[antayat]

This could also be used as a defense weapon at sea.

[MrfixitRick]

If every weapon in the world got sucked into it, it would be the best invention the planet has ever known!!

[Advice4vice]

This seems like magic to me. On the lower part, the tesla turbine part, do you get those cds wet also?

[MrfixitRick]

Yes, the lower part is the Tesla disc turbine that is magnetically connected to the upper Tesla "pump". The lower turbine uses faucet water pressure to turn the discs, which have magnets to engage the upper "pump" magnetically.

[Alkhemista]

do you not understand that you just showed a way to harness the pressure from the water faucet.

[MrfixitRick]

All of my 14 "Sink-Science" videos do just that...show ways to use faucet water pressure to do fun things.

I calculate we could save at least 50 million dollars a year in energy costs if faucet power was tapped (so to speak!).

Unfortunately, it would likely cost about 50 billion to do so.

[khk92]

I'm slightly confused.. if the water is being sucked into the vortex through the hole at the bottom, why isn't the water level gonig down?

[MrfixitRick]

There is no hole; it's a standing vortex created by a magnetically-coupled tesla pump disc pack inside the CD cover with water in it. That disc pack is connected magnetically to the magnetic field of the turbine to make it spin.

[umbertocaldera]

nice, now imagine air doing that and openning up something else that isn't air. breacking air preassure using a vortex too. air pressure is 14.7 lbs per square foot. i know how but i am too scared to try.

[MrfixitRick]

If this turbine was spun fast enough as a pump, it would create a near vacuum at the CD spindle post inlet. Unfortunately, CD discs are not the best material for very high rpms, and the magnets in my design lend toward lower rpms. I have a plan to remedy that, but for now I'm too scared to try too!

[llollercoaster]

You should do a similar experiment but instead of just water add some food coloring and then oil, it would probably be pretty bad ass..

[MrfixitRick]

I've got a vortex experiment coming up that will be incredible with a 3 foot tall, 6 inch diameter clear tube. I'll use dye, smoke, and floating/sinking objects to create some fun! This will be in a couple of weeks time.

[llollercoaster]

awesome!

[ocean514]

I love how quiet the tesla turbine is when running on water. Make that concept into a showcase fountain! Just add a pump to cycle the water to power the turbine! Some LEDs and ultrasound smoke, done!

[MrfixitRick]

Hmmm, I do have 4 feet of 6 inch clear tubing, pump, led's and even a smoke generator...hehe.

Great idea, thanks for the comment!

[UndeadMageBunny]

you could totaly use that to super mix your koolaid!!! : D

[MrfixitRick]

Actually, I have another device that does the job better...

YouTube/watch?v=q3v_1upRdtA

[waaablind]

soo cool

[KirauL]

Cool video :)

[redeem17]

great vid! Thanks!

[LiquorFromTheFront]

You should add food coloring to this just to get a cool color :)

[barm13]

What would happen if you put that at the bottom of a bathtub? Would it create a bigger vortex above it? Obviously the deeper the tub the more power you will lose but would it work?

[MrfixitRick]

This will work to create a vortex of up to about a foot high. If the turbine had more pressure, the sky is the limit, hehe! (but you wouldn't want to be in the tub with it!)

[youarelackluster]

how would i go about building one of these?

[MrfixitRick]

Building this SinkScience version of the Tesla CD Turbine requires about $50 worth of magnets, a nozzle, CD case, CD's and glue.

I have Instructables at Instructables(dot)com that have step-by-step instructions on how to build CD Turbines. This is the SinkScience version.

The link is found in the "more info" box to the right. >>>

Contact me if you have questions after reviewing the material.

[brodie1600]

Your videos amaze me. It's just so neat to watch the machines and how they work.

Keep it up! =)

[11supaman11]

I have always wanted to build a small go cart vehicle which runs on compressed air to a tesla turbine attached to the rotor of the wheels, the one thing would be controlling the speed, I am sure it`s possible. what do you all think.

[MrfixitRick]

Sure, that's one of my dreams, too!

The main issue is that the Tesla Turbine requires a high rpm for best efficiency, so it would need gearing to the wheels. The speed can be controlled by a valve to the nozzle.

Here is a compressed air Tesla CD Turbine made by Cornell students that has a cool worm gear arrangement to reduce shaft speed. It powers a lunar/Mars rover experimental cart! :

Youtube/watch?v=8Ir8Ci5Ig2g

[11supaman11]

pretty cool stuff, what is the general efficiency of energy input/output with what you are seeing, I know you probably don't have very hightech stuff, but I have heard nothing but good things, the minicat is a very good example, but the piston design loses a lot of energy transfer, any opinions?

[MrfixitRick]

The efficiency of my water-pressure based Tesla CD turbines is very low...less than 5 percent. A proper Tesla Turbine on steam pressure was claimed by Tesla to be over 95 percent efficient under ideal circumstances. Modern researchers have made 30-40 percent efficiency claims.

[tornadonoob1]

I am dizzy fhd;asrhugb jl ;ok

[esrevni]

If you put iron filings in the water, and wrapped wire around it, column, could you potentially generate energy from it?

[MrfixitRick]

I don't think iron filings would work.There must be a changing magnetic field for the electricity to be generated. Maybe using a magnetic fluid would work in that manner.

[esrevni]

The thing is, I think back 2 years ago, the intel science fair's grand prize was a bio electric generator using polarized iron filled bacteria in a tube surrounded by wire.

So, perhaps, you could produce a bit more power using the vortex as well to try to offset the power needed from the water.

Do the turbines turn any slower from the added coupling?

[MrfixitRick]

The bio electric generator doesn't use magnetics as it's way of generating power. It is a chemical/bilogical process that has an anode and cathode and uses sunlight.

The vortex acts as a flywheel to smooth out the take-off of power from various devices, but the turbine turns slower from the energy diverted into the vortex and friction.

[Tuiniuaa]

mad

[bigt007]

I sure hope water is cheap where you live...

Hopefully ran off of a well..

[MrfixitRick]

Yes, it helps to be on a well next to a rain forest! It costs me about 5 cents an hour in well pump power to run the turbine.

I don't run it very long usually. Especially since i blew the top right off the CD cakebox case.

The Tesla CD turbine is on a self-contained system in my last couple of videos, using re-circulated water and a pump.

[shisomiso]

I fell asleep watching it spin lol

[MrfixitRick]

It's mesmerizing...

[Daedalus1400]

How many rpms was the turbine running at while the vortex was going? I'm thinking of making my own vortex machine.

[MrfixitRick]

The turbine was running between 500 and 1000 rpm. Good luck with your vortex project...don't forget to video it!

[francisbuena]

anyone know how to do that? that was awesome!

lol i want to know too...

[MrfixitRick]

For step-by-step building instructions of the Tesla CD Turbine, see my Instructables link in the "more info" to the right. >>>