SS Connection

For the social studies connection, I will be discussing how smoke rings are used in the real world. Our experiment was about how we could create smoke rings, but we found out that humans weren't the only creatures capable of making these vortex rings. A smoke ring is a visible ring formed by smoke in a clear atmosphere. Smoke rings are toroidal vortices, also called vortex rings. A toroidal vortex is a region of rotating fluid moving through the same or different fluid where the flow pattern takes on a doughnut shape. Examples of it in real life is how dolphins and volcanoes produce it. Dolphins blow perfect air bubble vortex rings too, mostly for amusement. There are two main methods of bubble ring production: rapid puffing of a burst of air into the water and allowing it to rise to the surface, forming a ring; or creating a toroidal vortex with their flukes and injecting a bubble into the helical vortex currents thus formed. The dolphin will often then examine its creation visually and with sonar. They will sometimes play with the bubbles, distorting the bubble rings, breaking smaller bubble rings off of the original or splitting the original ring into two separate rings using their beak. But the biggest vortex rings on Earth are not made by dolphins or humans. Volcanoes sometimes emit huge ring shaped clouds of steam and gas up to 200 meters in diameter. How they are formed is still a mystery, but they can fly up to 1000 meters high and last more than 10 minutes. We believe they are formed when the air is mixed with steam or smoke and is forced out of a small circular or cylindrical opening. Because, there is a narrow drag at the surface of the opening, the air in the center is forced to move faster than the air near the opening, ultimately creating a circular motion. In this way, a doughnut like vortex is formed. The shape of the ring is maintained due to the rotational motion of the air that constantly keeps flowing in the vortex ring. In short, a brief explosion in a confined outlet with just the right velocity allows for that impressive “puffs” eventually expanding into an unbelievable ring. It so reveals how nature’s geometric configuration can actually become so sensible and artistic.