Tornado in a Bottle Experiment

Vortexes are spiral forms that swirl around an invisible center line. You can find them in your bathtub when water drains and even in cloud formations above Saturn’s north pole. The vortex in this experiment is formed when gravity pulls the water through the bottle opening to form a circling tornado.

What you’ll need:

• Two plastic 1-liter bottles

• Water

• Duct tape to connect the bottles

• One metal washer (hardware) to connect the bottles

• Food coloring dye

Directions:

1. Fill one bottle 2/3 full of water and food dye.

2. Attach the bottles together by placing the washer on the top of the water-filled bottle. Turn the empty bottle upside down and aligning the openings of the bottles, connect them tightly with duct tape.

3. Quickly turn the bottle over and set on a table to stand vertically. Move the tube in a circle as if stirring the bottle. Swirling the water in the bottle is important as it causes the formation of the vortex. This makes it easier for air to come into the bottle and allows the water to pour out faster.

4. Twister will form!

Related posts:

The Pope is the latest to speak about the threat that global warming and rising sea levels implicate for all. He stated this in a conference where he met with delegation of leaders from the Pacific…

Giving thought to what goes into designing an interaction on any visual interface… until recently, it was about defining the type of interaction (business function), goal (business outcome) of the…

Letter of redemption from an ex-husband.