Description
An electric whirl is a physics laboratory apparatus that is used to demonstrate the principles of electrostatics and fluid dynamics. It typically consists of a cylindrical glass chamber with a metal rod in the center, which is connected to a high voltage power supply. The chamber also contains a fluid, such as water or gas.
To use the electric whirl, the high voltage power supply is turned on, which causes the metal rod in the center of the chamber to become charged with static electricity. The charged rod ionizes the fluid in the chamber, creating a flow of charged particles. This flow of charged particles causes the fluid to spin and form a vortex around the metal rod.
Electric whirls are commonly used in physics and engineering courses to teach students about the principles of electrostatics, fluid dynamics, and the behavior of charged particles in electric fields. They are also used in scientific research and in industry, for example, to study the behavior of fluids in high voltage environments.