How do whirlpools

These very strong whirlpools are called maelstroms. Whirlpools up to 33 feet in diameter occur every six hours. Ships that wish to travel through the strait time their trips to pass through when the waters are safe. Otherwise, vessels could be damaged or destroyed by this maelstrom. Other famous whirlpools include Moskstraumen, Old Sow, and Naruto.

Unlike most maelstroms, those in Moskstraumen form in the open sea, away from straits and rivers. Old Sow occurs near New Brunswick. The Naruto whirlpool forms off the coast of Japan and can grow to 66 feet in diameter.

Whirlpools can also form in rivers and are very common at the bottom of waterfalls. Always stay vigilant when swimming in natural bodies of water. Whirlpools can be very dangerous and can cause drowning. Despite the danger, whirlpools are a fascinating natural phenomenon. Many people enjoy watching strong maelstroms spin away from the safety of dry land.

Go for it—just keep a safe distance! C, CCRA. WATER you waiting for? Find a friend or family member to help you with the activities below! We are undergoing some spring clearing site maintenance and need to temporarily disable the commenting feature. Thanks for your patience. Drag a word to its definition. You have answered 0 of 3 questions correctly and your score is:.

Want to add a little wonder to your website? Help spread the wonder of families learning together. We sent you SMS, for complete subscription please reply.

Follow Twitter Instagram Facebook. What is a whirlpool? Movies and stories at times portray people or boats being sucked into whirlpools — hungry, spinning currents of water — never to be seen again. Are these stories true? If so, what are they? A whirlpool is a body of swirling water formed when two opposing currents meet. Whirlpools may form wherever water is flowing, from creeks and streams to rivers and seas. Whirlpools also form at the base of waterfalls and man-made structures such as dams.

Most of these phenomena are not very powerful. You can learn more about the trick if you do a web search for "water equator test debunked". The Coriolis Effect is extremely slight, similar to the fact that we can stand on the earth without being knocked over by the 1, mile per hour speed of the rotating earth.

There are many forces that are stronger on a small body of water such as the angle of the drain, the slightest hand movement as you remove the plug, etc. In a natural setting such as a stream, there are usually other obstructions that create the spinning direction. If you were to stir water in the opposite direction of your hemispheric location, that is sufficient energy to create a vortex whirlpool since that stirring is a stronger localized influence than the slight rotational influence of the earth.

Some people even believe that water swirls down a toilet according to hemispheric influence. But that is NOT true. The direction of rotation in a toilet is caused by the direction of the water flowing into the toilet bowl from the outlets around the inside of the rim.

What about a bathtub drain? Will the Coriolis-Effect be sufficient to influence the direction of the vortex? Only if the tub and drain are perfectly level, and the water is not disturbed when the drain plug is removed. But that is nearly impossible. It is best to pull the plug with a chain rather than by reaching in with your hand.

Your hand will cause slight currents as you put it into the water and then remove it, and that might be enough to influence the direction of the water. Pop Bottle Experiment. One of the most fun whirlpool experiments is with a pop bottle. You will probably spill water with this experiment, so it is best to do it outside or over a tub. Fill a 1-liter plastic pop bottle with water and turn it upside down.

Watch as the water fights to get out of the small opening. The fight is between water and air. If air doesn't replace the space occupied by the water, a vacuum will form and slow down the water while sucking the sides of the bottle in. Notice the large bubbles of air climbing to the top of the water level. It is very uncoordinated. You can also demonstrate the power of this vacuum with a straw. Stick a straw down into a glass of water, place your finger over the top end of it, and then remove the straw from the glass of water.

Notice that the water stays in the straw. It can't fall out because you have your finger over the top end so no air can get into the straw to replace the water. Now remove your finger, and the water falls out freely. Similarly, if you punch or drill a hole in the bottom of the pop bottle, put your finger over it, fill it with water, turn it upside down, and then remove your finger from the hole, you would be able to see how freely the water falls out of the bottle.

Create your own Whirlpool. But there is an even better way to let air into the bottle, and it demonstrates a whirlpool vortex at the same time. Fill the bottle with water, turn it upside, down, then move it in a circular motion to get the water spinning, then stop making the circular motion and let the water continue to spin.