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What's Happening? Your Tornado TubeŽ provides a hands on demonstration of "Vortex Action." Tornadoes, whirlpools, waterspouts and similar motions in fluid that occur when liquid drops through an opening are called vortexes. The action is the concentration of kinetic energy (motion of the fluid). In the atmosphere, thermals and wind shear are the sources of the energy which produces the tornado vortex. In liquids, such as water, the potential energy (mass) is converted to kinetic energy as it descends, pulled by gravity through an opening. A small initial rotation about the opening becomes more violent (higher rotational velocity) as the molecules come closer to the center. The resulting outward force tends to keep the liquid out of the exact center, maintaining a "hole" in the remaining liquid. Click on the pictures below for a larger image! |
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