Coriolis Affect at Equator - Urban Legend?

[jetdaved]

This is definitely wrong, not only because the Coriolis force is negligible in this type of experiment, but also because the people in the video have got their direction wrong. In the northern hemisphere the Coriolis force serves to make the whirlpool spin anticlockwise, whilst in the southern hemisphere it serves to make it spin clockwise. 

[erc814]

THIS IS NOT A TRICK... and it has nothing to do with the coriolis effect.

This demonstration proves three facts; 1. The earths magnetic field is weakest at the equator and increases in strength as one moves towards the poles. 2. that this magnetic field is hemispherical. 3. and most incredible of all, that the north and south magnetic fields rotate in different directions, one clockwise and the other counter clockwise.

magneticism is one of the least understood forces of nature.

[jetdaved]

@erc814 I hope you're joking...

[erc814]

@jetdaved No I am dead serious, ever heard of the Coral castle mystery?

[jetdaved]

@erc814 No, but water isn't magnetic. The direction of rotation is determined by the shape of the container and the initial disturbance in the water.

[ZiggyOsiris]

Much better if you click 1911. It reminds me of those old "flying machine" videos... you know, because in principle, it's all hopelessly flawed.

:D

[machinationu]

Clockwise 27 sec.

CClockwise 28 sec

no twisting clear winner @ 11 sec.

[koolkoollo]

Lol Bad Science man once ppl see this they become hard headed this is the problem with our world today. I bet this guy makes 50 US dollars a day. Enough to buy more drinking water then the water he uses 2 scam ppl thousands of times a year

[doom20500]

hu. thats actually really cool! sorry that you have so many skeptics commenting on this. for one comment Ive seen you reply to, i would like to see him try this at home! keep up the good work!

[ESponge2000]

For example, solar noon in Washington, DC in summertime happens around 1:15pm ish, partly because of daylight saving time pushing everything an hour ahead, the other 15 minutes off is because Washington, DC is west of the middle of the Eastern timezone, where the time matches up with solar sky....

[ESponge2000]

The equinox information is correct though. At the sun's highest angle in the sky on the Equator on the equinox, the angle of inclination is exactly 90 degrees, dead center of the sky. It actually wouldn't be 12 noon on the offficial clock because while we use time zones to mark our clocks, real solar time does not have zones...the time of noon changes with every step you take west or east.

[ESponge2000]

This is a hoax experiment and coriolis is a rotation of the earth effect, which would have such a neligable effect on a glass this size this close to the equator.....the trick is how the water is poures and the container is not leveled

[stevedivnick]

The Coriolis Effect is extremely slight, similar to the fact that we can stand on the earth without being knocked over by the 1,000 mile per hour speed of the rotating earth. There are many forces that are stronger on a small body of water such as a tub such as the angle of the drain, the slightest hand movement as you remove the plug, etc. You can read more about this on the Spiral Wishing Well Student Guide.

[BJBlitzstein]

I think he's manipulating something in the drainpipe. The equinox talk and action with his hand on top is misdirection.

[frankrobinson67]

If it was due to the Coriolis force then it should go anticlockwise in the North

[tomveil]

The way the gentleman is pouring the water into the basin is what creates the slight rotation both clockwise and counter-clockwise.

The coriolis effect is not significant enough to be seen so dramatically

[EyeLean5280]

@tomveil, at least not without a lot of controls for initial motion, temperature, etc. ("The ["Bath-Tub Vortex", Nature. Dec 15th, 1962. Vol 195, No. 4859, p. 1080-1081])

When all things are controlled for, the Coriolis effect does apparently make an appearance in draining basins - but it takes 24 hours of settling, among other things.

The gentleman is using exaggeration to illustrate (rather than actually demonstrate) something that is quite real but cannot be shown to tourists in 5 minutes.

[agibon]

I forgot:

On such a little funnel and AT the equator, the water doesn't spin, that's right!

[KingfisnPunk]

next thing well find out is the world is flat

[agibon]

I'm studying physics at a university in Belgium. We have to prove this in mathematical ways. So the Coriolis effect is absolutely not a myth. (Study physics and you'll see)

BUT

With such a little quantity of water and such a little funnel, the Coriolis effect hasn't an impact (the guy does something with his arm).

BUT IT HAS an impact on hurricanes!!

Believe me, my exam is tomorrow :-D !!

[EyeLean5280]

@agibon, science dictates that we do experiments to see whether our math proofs are correct. Have you done this experiment at the equator yourself?

[agibon]

@EyeLean5280, I answered on the other vid.

[EyeLean5280]

I did see those. Thank you very much for the time you took to address my questions! (I'm a novice geography student.)

[jsoscia3]

"How much money did you make today from those dumb American tourists, Ukembe? I made close to $200."

"Haha yes, me too, Akimbe, I made about $150 off those losers!"

[perfectdonk]

YESSSS, not everybody believes this ridiculous myth, too bad that it's as popular as the "evolution-theory is 'just' a theory"-myth GHAHAHA

[EyeLean5280]

I don't know. According to experiments done for the scientific journal Nature, the force they're illustrating (not actually demonstrating) is real & would show up under tightly enough controlled conditions (not possible to do in 5 minutes, though), so I don't see any real harm.

[dueckrandy]

It's definitely a myth. I just tried it in Canada (way north) and you can make it spin any direction you want just by given the water a slight swish in that direction.

[donnomar]

OK,stupid red neck, try to get out of canada from time to time. See Coriolis effect, you can find it in somethig called books. or in any case wikipedia. If you really think this is a myth, try flushig water in Canada without any rotation at all. If you succeed call me, I give you the Novel prize! Novel prize to stupidity, cause it will meand most probably you did something wrong.

[perfectdonk]

GHAHAHAHAHAHA

GHAHAHAHAH

GET---AN--EDUCATION

PLEASE, FOOL...you really need it if you think A: wikipedia is a reliable source (especially since THIS IS A MYTH believed by perhaps 99% of NON-scientists, so chanches are that the author of the wiki is one of them..)

and B: if you think that a small water current is (noticeable) effected by earth's rotation..DO YOU?!

Try throwing water down a perfectly straight slope, according to you it would splash down one side, RIGHT?

HAHAHA!

[kubush]

You mean the "Nobel" prize? And it is a big fat scam.

[thatisfunnyveryfunny]

thats why he stops the water with his arm before draining

[EyeLean5280]

@dueckrandy,

Apparently, Coriolis can have an effect on draining water WHEN ALL OTHER FORCES ARE REMOVED - which takes more time & effort than the average person is willing to put into it. ["Bath-Tub Vortex", Nature. Dec 15th, 1962. Vol 195, No. 4859, p. 1080-1081]

[X0Pureranqe]

Arent all you guys over hypothesizing about this? Maybe its not a scam? maybe the movement of his hand as he removed it from the water was a pure coincedence? And if the coriolis affect didnt exist then how do you explain water spinning counter clockwise when you *flush* it in Australia, but goes clockwise in India or China ( all places i've been to and happened to notice the way the water flushes) Places North and south of the equator?

[kubush]

Most toilets in australia flush straight down because of how they are designed....and that is the biggest factor. The design of the drain, not the coriolis effect. And btw, there are videos that ppl have posted showing the 'wrong' spin in both hemispheres.

Fact is it is a scam. The science proves it.

[Joefonzgoldenarms]

lol its a scam? who are they scamming? theres no profit to gain

[kubush]

Are you retarded? They are taking money from the tourists. You think they would do this for free so they can wow some upper class americans? These are poor ppl and this is how they make money. Its a scam.

[Joefonzgoldenarms]

lol well i didnt know ppl were actually paying for this theyre retarded lol if what u said is true id let it slide

[doverlin]

Watch his arm. Notice that it moves slightly in the direction he wants the water to move as he lifts if from the water. Notice that exactly on the equator, he is very careful and leaves his arm in place longer. He then moves his hand to one side. Then he pulls his hand straight out to the side to prevent moving the water in any direction. I suspect he could make the water move in any direction he wished when he is that close to the equator.

[discoinfern0]

great observations 5stars.

we the scientists must always expose the phonies

[brizzlie]

I have to pee now...

[Glycogenic]

I can't confirm this info since I'm no expert but out of curiosity, I've checked the wikipedia and it's explained there that this is a misconception and could never be demonstrated outside a controled lab environment with such a small amount of water. At that scale, as in any bathtub, rotation is unlikely to play a role on the spiral direction.

[Glycogenic]

And, since even the supposed direction was wrong in this video, here's what it says on the wikipedia:

"Some sources that incorrectly attribute draining direction to the Coriolis force also get the direction wrong. If the Coriolis force were the dominant factor, drain vortices would spin counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern."

[MichaelEdwards47]

Correct - this is a myth. However, I sure can't figure out how the guy did this even though I have watched the video many times.

And how did he get it to go down so fast on the line were it did not whirlpool?

Weird.

[1blah23]

I think i can see some slight-of-arm as he pulls out his hand to "keep the water still"

some slight rotation in his forearm.

Check it out.

[Dragaron]

I'm not that smart, but I would like to share my thoughts..

I believe that when the water is moving, when it goes out of the funnel, it breaks the flow of water thus making the water drain slower..

but when there is no movement, and no break in water.. the water drain faster due to the fact that the flow of water isn't broken..

i could be completely wrong

[Fallingrocksdisplay]

Now I believe he is using a little mis-direction here. I think the funnel has an insert to constrain the water to slow it down. Then when it comes to the 'Equator' he slides out the insert as he talks to you so the water will fall out 'faster'. Maybe this is not correct but its how I would do it and yes I can see him initiate the clockwise rotation as he brings his hand out of the water. Still cool though what a job!!!

[reksub10]

aperently the real coriolis efect is about viewing an object moving in a straight line from a rotational referance point or somthing ..this is just an expriment that shows gravity

[gilgtc]

This is a famous scam which originated in Kenya. Michael Palin(from Monty Pyton)'s Pole to Pole shows him getting duped . They are just feeding on the common misconception that the coriolis effect plays a role on small systems. You really need something at least the size of a lake for the coriolis force to size up to the dominant forces acting on the water body. You can see that when he dumps the water the direction he does it in is slightly to the left or right of the center of the bowl.

[jmc8197]

duh... The clue is that it takes the Earth 24 hours to rotate, and so in 1 minute it takes to show the con, the Earth will have rotated 360/(24*60)= 1/4 degree. The rotation demonstrated here is due to the way he tilts it.

[moultriegadog]

Stop being afraid. Become a leader,find things out yourself(leave no stone unturned). You say "duh", as though you have sat outside of the atmosphere (with stopwatch and speed camera)and witnessed these facts. Knowledge is gained not borrowed!

[jmc8197]

If You bothered to look at what I wrote, you will see that I put a calculation there.

[thetruthsquared]

this is neat. i heard about this, didnt know it was really true. cool to see it proven true! good video.

[howwho80]

FAKE! FAKE! This is a stupid trick for stupid turists. Jesus! I can do it in my own garage. If you want to learn about Coriolis efect please read 'Dynamic Meteorology' of James R. Holton or 'Fluids Mechanics of the atmosfere' of Robert A. Brown

[MichaelEdwards47]

I think the gentleman shown believed what he showed us was true - but even if he did not, whether or not the physics are protrayed accurately can be considered apart from the entertainment value of conducting such an experiment while standing on the equater.

[howwho80]

If people want to see unbelieved things they must go to a magic show but if you want to see science don't wacht these fakes. People is stupid if they believe all what they hear. Please, don't be stupid and study more:

COMMON SENSE IS A DOCILE THING, SOON OR LATER IT LEARN THE WAY OF SCIENCE (Henry Magenau)

[TransfusionSB]

people seem so nice there

[cristo999]

Apart from the fact that they con money out of you by showing you fake science!

[MichaelEdwards47]

Ha! It's a con if you believe what you are paying for, otherwise it is entertainment.

[BJBlitzstein]

And actually, it doesn't drain faster, as he says at the end. Water will drain the fastest when it spirals down.

[MichaelEdwards47]

As I recall it drained faster when it did not spiral, and that is born out by the video is it not?

[BJBlitzstein]

The Coriolis effect is real. This is a trick. You need ideal conditions to see it with such a small amount of water. You will see it in 100 mile wide systems, but not toilets or sinks. The water is directed. Look into it. It killed me when I first heard about it. It is perhaps the greatest URBAN MYTH in America. Snopes has a lengthy discussion.

[MasterRidley451]

YES! *responds to the question on the title*

If you want to see why it isn't true and what the trick is in this demonstration download the book "Bad Astronomy" from Emule and check the 2nd chapter

[rotgertesla]

you are stupid, there is planty of video that shows the effect is real. Including this one