What causes a whirlpool to form in a bathtub?

Asked Jul 25 '13 at 15:01

Active Jul 25 '13 at 17:49

Viewed 143 times

I mean, when you have a full bathtub and then let it empty, under what conditions does a whirlpool form?

Could we devise an experiment and measure this effect? When it comes to fluids, I don't know why I can't think of anything to test a hypothesis.

edited Jul 25 '13 at 16:42

Qmechanic

asked Jul 25 '13 at 15:01

Alubeixu

3

Possible duplicates: http://physics.stackexchange.com/q/32/2451 , http://physics.stackexchange.com/q/7738/2451 and links therein. – Qmechanic Jul 25 '13 at 16:36
This question deals with estimating the effect of the Coriolis force: http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/32/resolving-water-sink-problem . This question deals with why the vortex forms at all: http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/7738/why-theres-a-whirl-when-you-drain-the-bathtub . I'll move my answer to the latter question. – Jul 25 '13 at 17:50

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