Physics, anyone?
I have no idea how, but C and I got into a discussion on how things are different in the southern and northern hemispheres. Like how water flows in different directions down a plug hole, depending where you are. Is it because of gravitational forces, tides, or what? We didn't resolve that topic, because he brought up something else. Something I thought was garbage, but maybe someone else knows the answer.
He said that magnetic currents in the northern and southern hemispheres are different, so if you have a northern hemisphere tv, to use it in the southern hemisphere, you need to turn the magnetic bit (whatever technical term it is) of the tv, upside down to make it work.
I said that's ridiculous, but he was adamant. I couldn't tell whether he was serious or not. I told him I'd google it. He said go ahead. I have yet to do that.
Anyway, my reasoning behind it being incorrect is that tvs on planes and ships crossing the Equator would stop working once they got to the other hemisphere. Alternatively, one would have to stand on their head to watch tv if they bought a European tv in Australia. I used to have a Blaupunkt tv, and I don't recall ever having to stand on my head to watch it.
The only other thing I can think of is that planes suddenly turn into the Gravitron midair and all the passengers flip upside down for the second half of the journey (if you're going LA to Melbourne, for example). Mind you, this could still be right. Last time I flew back from LA, I was so sick and was passed out from drinking Nyquil, anything could have happened. My head was definitely spinning.
So tell me, physics nuts, what's up? ...or down?
He said that magnetic currents in the northern and southern hemispheres are different, so if you have a northern hemisphere tv, to use it in the southern hemisphere, you need to turn the magnetic bit (whatever technical term it is) of the tv, upside down to make it work.
I said that's ridiculous, but he was adamant. I couldn't tell whether he was serious or not. I told him I'd google it. He said go ahead. I have yet to do that.
Anyway, my reasoning behind it being incorrect is that tvs on planes and ships crossing the Equator would stop working once they got to the other hemisphere. Alternatively, one would have to stand on their head to watch tv if they bought a European tv in Australia. I used to have a Blaupunkt tv, and I don't recall ever having to stand on my head to watch it.
The only other thing I can think of is that planes suddenly turn into the Gravitron midair and all the passengers flip upside down for the second half of the journey (if you're going LA to Melbourne, for example). Mind you, this could still be right. Last time I flew back from LA, I was so sick and was passed out from drinking Nyquil, anything could have happened. My head was definitely spinning.
So tell me, physics nuts, what's up? ...or down?
posted by E in Oz at 11:01 am
these thoughts escaped my brain at 11:01 am
3 Comments:
Hi there, I hope I can help - if I can remember my basic physics and geography lessons from erm xx years back.
1) Water does travel in different directions depending in which hemisphere you are in. This is due to something called the Corealis (Coriolis) effect caused simply by the rotation of this quaint little planet.
2) I remember hearing something about magnetic forces in the northern and southern hemispheres affecting monitors to a degree), hence why many monitors have a degauss button.
Hope I've helped with the little knowledge I have
Well, I found this..."The vertical component of the earth's magnetic field varies in intensity and polarity (N/S) as one moves from the North pole over the equator and to the South pole. It is maximum at the poles and decreases to zero at the equator. The total strength is not large - after all it is less than the total magnitude of the earth's magnetic field of about .5 Gauss (.00005 Tesla). However, it is enough to affect the trajectory of the electron beam(s) slightly.
For monochrome monitors and B/W TVs, this will result only in a slight shift in position or rotation of the picture depending on the orientation of the
CRT with respect to the earth's magnetic field. For the most part such effects will not be significant enough to be objectionable.
However, for high resolution color monitors and even some color TVs, the result of transporting the unit from the hemisphere from which it was manufactured or set up to a location in the opposite hemisphere may be uncorrectable purity problems or excessive sensitivity to local magnetic fields."
http://www.eio.com/repairfaq/REPAIR/F_crtfaq.html#CRTFAQ_020
There's more to it, but it would be too long for a comment box :)
Thanks all for the comments! C and I, being the geeks we are, managed to have another discussion on this after I told him all the comments and now, of course, we're both physics experts and can bore the life out of any party we go to in the future with our new wealth of information and knowledge. hehe :-p
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