Cylinder rotation direction

[Naybor]

Well, I do know that commodes spin one way when they flush in the northern hemisphere and the other direction in the southern, but you learn something new on here every day.

BTW, WWII aircraft turned left faster than they turned right due to the rotation of their engines. (Trivia for the day)

 

[KJS]

Easy solution to that is to load five each time. Give the cylinder a spin, look away, close the cylinder.

You will get five "bangs" and one "click", but you won't know when it is coming. Makes for a great "flinch detector" and better yet, makes the box of ammo come out even.

Guess you could use a snap cap for #6 to avoid dry firing. I used to unintentionally dry fire on every single cylinder full as I didn't count, finding out I'd fired six by getting a "click." Took a little while to learn to count to 6, a task one would think a college grad could handle though it's harder than it seems when shooting. I wasn't used to counting as my entire focus was on aiming.

That method would fail 1 out of 6 times, seeing how 5 "bangs" gives a very strong hint what's next.

 

[Remo223]

Well, I do know that commodes spin one way when they flush in the northern hemisphere and the other direction in the southern, but you learn something new on here every day.

BTW, WWII aircraft turned left faster than they turned right due to the rotation of their engines. (Trivia for the day)

To be more specific, the plane will roll faster in the opposite direction of propeller rotation.

 

[Remo223]

Good call, RC, except for Rugers which have no sideplates.

Neither do charter arms. And then there's the new S&W polymer revolver that doesn't have a hand at all. So maybe it's not that good of a call after all.

 

[dagger dog]

I remember somewhere in print the debacle about cylinder rotation direction, it went something like this , the cylinder on the Smiths had the hand on the right side if the cylinder pin so when the hand pushed the cylinder up it pushed in the direction that the crane opened, this was supposed to cause some revolvers that had a lot of wear to shave some lead, but on the other hand (pun) the Colt had the hand on the left side of the cylinder pin , which was supposed to keep the crane pushed into the frame and therefore be more ?accurate?.

 

[Remo223]

I remember somewhere in print the debacle about cylinder rotation direction, it went something like this , the cylinder on the Smiths had the hand on the right side if the cylinder pin so when the hand pushed the cylinder up it pushed in the direction that the crane opened, this was supposed to cause some revolvers that had a lot of wear to shave some lead, but on the other hand (pun) the Colt had the hand on the left side of the cylinder pin , which was supposed to keep the crane pushed into the frame and therefore be more ?accurate?.

I've never heard that but it makes perfect sense...in rapid double action mode that is. I hope knowing this doesn't cause anyone to try holding the crane closed tight with their thumb while they shoot. That would be a very bad idea.

 

[wrangler5]

Looking downward upon the northern hemisphere the rotation of the earth is counter-clockwise. Thus, if living in the northern hemisphere, a cylinder rotating counter-clockwise would not be fighting against the earth's rotation and would turn faster, leading to quicker shots.

This would only be true when the gun is pointing due north. And the opposite if it's pointing due south - might be really hard even to get it to fire, what with having to overcome all them rotational forces and all. Due east and west should be neutral. Not sure if things would be opposite in the southern hemisphere, but if toilets run backwards down there then guns might too. (I got good grades in physics 50 years ago - I think.) ;-)

 

[357 Terms]

I'm getting a headache!

 

[Manco]

Well, I do know that commodes spin one way when they flush in the northern hemisphere and the other direction in the southern, but you learn something new on here every day.

Well, in general the rotational direction of the vortex over a drain is determined by the sum of the forces acting on the fluid and any residual rotational momentum it may have. For example, the shape of the container (and subtle imperfections thereof) may work with gravity to exert a force on the fluid, making it spin a certain direction most of the time when draining, while at other times stirring up the fluid in the opposite direction may make the vortex spin the other way if it can overcome all of the other forces involved.

The Coriolis force that you and others have in mind is real, but is a rather weak force in comparison to everything else. I mean, can you even feel it acting on your body? I doubt it. It always plays a role, trying to spin things counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere, but its effect is relatively small and is normally easily overwhelmed by other forces. If you managed to neutralize every other force, then you'd get the effect that you'd expect, but that's not trivial to do.

I'm getting a headache!

You see, if you're in the northern hemisphere, then your head would spin in a counter-clockwise direction, and it would spin in the opposite direction in the southern hemisphere.