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Encyclopedia > Vortex
Vortex created by the passage of an aircraft wing, revealed by coloured smoke

A vortex (pl. vortices) is a spinning, often turbulent, flow (or any spiral motion) with closed streamlines. The shape of media or mass rotating rapidly around a center forms a vortex. It is a flow involving rotation about an axis. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2976x2420, 995 KB) Date 05. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2976x2420, 995 KB) Date 05. ... In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is a flow regime characterized by chaotic, stochastic property changes. ... In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which turns around some central point or axis, getting progressively closer to or farther from it, depending on which way you follow the curve. ... In fluid dynamics, a streamline is a line which is everywhere tangent to the velocity of the flow. ...

## Contents

A vortex can be any circular or rotary flow that possesses vorticity.[1] Vorticity is a mathematical concept used in fluid dynamics. It can be related to the amount of "circulation" or "rotation" in a fluid. In fluid dynamics, vorticity is the circulation per unit area at a point in the flow field. It is a vector quantity, whose direction is (roughly speaking) along the axis of the swirl. Also in fluid dynamics, the movement of a fluid can be said to be vortical if the fluid moves around in a circle, or in a helix, or if it tends to spin around some axis. Such motion can also be called solenoidal. In the atmospheric sciences, vorticity is a property that characterizes large-scale rotation of air masses. Since the atmospheric circulation is nearly horizontal, the (3 dimensional) vorticity is nearly vertical, and it is common to use the vertical component as a scalar vorticity. Vorticity is a mathematical concept used in fluid dynamics. ... Fluid dynamics is the subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that studies fluids (liquids and gases) in motion. ... In physics and in vector calculus, a spatial vector is a concept characterized by a magnitude, which is a scalar, and a direction (which can be defined in a 3-dimensional space by the Euler angles). ... Vortical means pertaining to a vortex or to vortices. ... In vector calculus a solenoidal vector field is a vector field v with divergence zero: This condition is clearly satisfied whenever v has a vector potential, because if then The converse holds: for any solenoidal v there exists a vector potential A such that . ...

Mathematically, it is defined as,

$omega = nabla times mathit{u}$

where u = ui + vj + wk is the fluid velocity.

The properties of vorticity in 2 and 3 dimensions are treated in some depth in George Batchelor's famous textbook (ch 5 & ch 7 et seq.). Of particular importance in practical situations is the intensification of vorticity which takes place in three dimensions when a vortex-line is extended (p270 et seq). George Keith Batchelor (March 8, 1920 - March 30, 2000) was an Australian applied mathematician and fluid dynamicist. ...

## Two types of vortex

In fluid mechanics, a distinction is often made between two limiting vortex cases. One is called the free (irrotational) vortex, and the other is the forced (rotational) vortex. These are considered as below:

01:14, 17 October 2006 (UTC)150.101.72.85=== Free (irrotational) vortex ===

When fluid is drawn down a plug-hole, one can observe the phenomenon of a free vortex. The tangential velocity v varies inversely as the distance r from the centre of rotation, so the angular momentum, rv, is constant; the vorticity is zero everywhere (except for a singularity at the centre-line) and the circulation about a contour containing r=0 has the same value everywhere. The free surface (if present) dips sharply (as r − 2 ) as the centre line is approached. In fluid dynamics, circulation is the path integral around a closed curve of the fluid velocity. ...

The tangential velocity is given by:

$v_{theta} = frac{Gamma}{2 pi r},$                 (2.1)

where Γ is the circulation and r is the radial distance from the center of the vortex.

I have done controlled scientific experiments on water going down a plughole from Nordkapp, Norway at 71 degrees North to Stanley, Tasmania at 40 degrees South. Clearly, Newton's 1st and 2nd Laws of Motion apply.

If the water is at rest then it will remain at rest and go down the plughole with no vortex at all. If the water is already in motion, either clockwise or anti-clockwise, then it will remain in motion and a vortex will form immediately.

I have each of the experiments on video with famous landmarks in the background to prove where the experiment was performed.

John Foley

### Forced (Rotational) Vortex

In a forced vortex the fluid essentially rotates as a solid body (there is no shear). The motion can be realised by placing a dish of fluid on a turntable rotating at T radians/sec; the fluid has vorticity of 2 T everywhere, and the free surface (if present) is a parabola.

The tangential velocity is given by:

$v_{theta} = omega r,$                 (2.2)

where ω is the angular velocity and r is the radial distance from the center of the vortex. The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ...

## Observations

A mesovortex is on the scale of a few miles (smaller than a hurricane but larger than a tornado). [2] On a much smaller scale, a vortex is usually formed as water goes down a drain, as in a sink or a toilet. This occurs in water as the revolving mass forms a whirlpool. This whirlpool is caused by water flowing out of a small opening in the bottom of a basin or reservoir. This swirling flow structure within a region of fluid flow opens downward from the water surface. A mile is the name of a unit of length, usually used to measure distance, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... Many modern sinks are made of stainless steel such as this self-rimming example In plumbing, a sink or basin is a bowl-shaped fixture that is used for washing hands or small objects such as food, dishes, nylons, socks or underwear. ... Toilet found in a Boeing 747 aircraft A toilet is a plumbing fixture and a disposal system primarily intended for the disposal of the bodily wastes; urine, fecal matter, vomit and menses. ... Saltstraumen off Norway. ... Many modern sinks are made of stainless steel such as this self-rimming example In plumbing, a sink or basin is a bowl-shaped fixture that is used for washing hands or small objects such as food, dishes, nylons, socks or underwear. ... Gelmersee is a reservoir in Switzerland. ...

### Instances

• In the hydrodynamic interpretation of the behaviour of electromagnetic fields, the acceleration of electric fluid in a particular direction creates a positive vortex of magnetic fluid. This in turn creates around itself a corresponding negative vortex of electric fluid.
• Smoke ring : A ring of smoke in the air.
• Lift-induced drag of a wing on an aircraft.
• The primary cause of drag in the sail of a sloop.
• Whirlpool : a swirling body of water produced by ocean tides or by a hole underneath the vortex, where water drains out, as in a bathtub. In popular imagination, but only rarely in reality, can they have the dangerous effect of destroying boats.
• Tornado : a violent windstorm characterized by a twisting, funnel-shaped cloud. A less violent version of a tornado, over water, is called a waterspout.
• Hurricane : a much larger, swirling body of clouds produced by evaporating warm ocean water and influenced by the Earth's rotation. Similar, but far greater, vortices are also seen on other planets, such as the permanent Great Red Spot on Jupiter and the intermittent Great Dark Spot on Neptune.
• Polar vortex : a persistent, large-scale cyclone centered near the Earth's poles, in the middle and upper troposphere and the stratosphere.
• Sunspot : dark region on the Sun's surface (photosphere) marked by a lower temperature than its surroundings, and intense magnetic activity.
• The accretion disk of a black hole or other massive gravitational source.
• Spiral galaxy : a type of galaxy in the Hubble sequence which is characterized by a thin, rotating disk. Our galaxy, the Milky Way is of this type.

Cyclonic separation is a method of removing particles from an air (or gas) stream without having to use filters. ... In fluid dynamics, an eddy is the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle. ... Many people in South Korea believe that, when operated in closed rooms, electric fans do not bring heat relief but sudden death, suffocating victims by stealing their oxygen. ... The Oregon Vortex is a roadside attraction in Gold Hill, Oregon, notable for its presumed paranormal properties, which are caused by a fascinating and convincing optical illusion of the gravity hill type. ... An optical vortex (also known as a wave dislocation or phase singularity) is simply a zero of an optical field, a point of zero intensity. ... Viktor Schauberger (30 June 1885â€“25 September 1958) was an Austrian forester, naturalist and inventor. ... In physics, the shower-curtain effect is the phenomenon in which a shower curtain gets blown inwards with a running shower, regardless of the temperature of the water. ... In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which turns around some central point or axis, getting progressively closer to or farther from it, depending on which way you follow the curve. ... In dimensional analysis, the Strouhal number is a dimensionless number describing oscillating flow mechanisms. ... Vile Vortices Map The Vile Vortices are twelve Bermuda Triangle - like areas distributed more or less evenly around the globe. ... Von KÃ¡rmÃ¡n vortex street off the Chilean coast near the Juan Fernandez Islands A Von KÃ¡rmÃ¡n vortex street is a repeating pattern of swirling vortices. ... VortexHealing is an alternative method of healing which claims to tap into a particular energy vortex, which accesses a healing realm of divine consciousness which was created by a being known as an avatar (roughly the Hindu equivalent to Jesus Christ, of which there are supposedly many throughout history) to... A vortex ring is a mass of moving fluid moving through the same or different fluid where the flow pattern takes on a donut shape. ... The vortex tube, also known as the Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube, is a heat pump with no moving parts. ... A Vortex cooler is a cooling device that produces a jet of hot air on one end and chilled cold air at the other end from nothing but compressed air as input. ... Vortex shedding is caused when air flows past a blunt structure. ... A quantum vortex is a topological defect exhibited in superfluids and superconductors. ...

• "Weather Glossary"' The Weather Channel Interactive, Inc.. 2004.
• "Glossary and Abbreviations". Risk Prediction Initiative. The Bermuda Biological Station for Research, Inc.. St. George's, Bermuda. 2004.
• Loper, David E., "An analysis of confined magnetohydrodynamic vortex flows". Case Institute of Technology. Washington, National Aeronautics and Space Administration]; for sale by the Clearinghouse for Federal Scientific and Technical Information, Springfield, Va. 1966. (NASA contractor report NASA CR-646) LCCN 67060315
• Batchelor, G. K. (1967), An Introduction to Fluid Dynamics, Cambridge Univ. Press, Ch. 7 et seq.

George Keith Batchelor (March 8, 1920 - March 30, 2000) was an Australian applied mathematician and fluid dynamicist. ...

Results from FactBites:

 vortex: Definition and Much More from Answers.com (2020 words) An illustration of vortex motion in a liquid medium is the small whirlpool formed by water as it drains from a wash basin. A good example of a vortex is the atmospheric phenomenon of a whirlwind or a tornado or dust devil. Polar vortex : a persistent, large-scale cyclone centered near the Earth's poles, in the middle and upper troposphere and the stratosphere.
 VORTEXES: Phenomenon of the Vortex (1590 words) "A vortex is a mass of energy that moves in a rotary or whirling motion, causing a depression or vacuum at the center.... Vortexes typically exist where there are strong concentrations of gravitational anomalies, inturn creating an environment that can defy gravity, bend light, scare animals, twist plant life into contorted shapes, and cause humans to feel strange. There is one other major system of vortexes that is seldom thought of and usually never considered by most people, but every living thing on the planet is impacted one way or the other at one time or the other by their influence.
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