A rotating tank is a device used for
fluid dynamics experiments. Typically cylinders filled with water on a rotating platform, the tanks can be used in various ways to simulate the
atmosphere or
ocean
The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...
.
For example, a rotating tank with an ice bucket in the center can represent the Earth, with a cold pole simulated by the ice bucket. Just as in the atmosphere,
eddies
In fluid dynamics, an eddy is the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid is in a turbulent flow regime. The moving fluid creates a space devoid of downstream-flowing fluid on the downstream side of the object. Fluid b ...
and a westerly
jetstream
Jet streams are fast flowing, narrow, meandering air currents in the atmospheres of some planets, including Earth. On Earth, the main jet streams are located near the altitude of the tropopause and are westerly winds (flowing west to east). ...
form in the water.
External links
Rotating tank experiment descriptions and movies
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Fluid dynamics