Nature & Environment
A Mysterious Spinning Ice Disc Spotted In Michigan's Pine River (Video)
Elaine Hannah
First Posted: Jan 12, 2017 03:30 AM EST
A perfect circular ice disc that is spinning appeared in Michigan's Pine River last week. It was so perfect that one could think of it that someone carved it into a perfect round shape.
The mysterious phenomenon was captured in film by Jason Robinson, who lives in Michigan. It was taken from the Schmied Road bridge over the Pine River in Michigan. He said that he has seen some cool stuff in the woods -- things people do not expect to see.
So, what causes this spinning ice disc in water? Scientists have been investigating the cause of the spinning ice discs and some of them even conducted tests. In a study that was published in the journal Physical Review E last March, the researchers from the University of Liege restructured a spinning ice scenario miniature by putting a 3.35-inch disc of ice in a one-foot-wide temperature-controlled bath. The team found that the warmer the water, the faster the little disc rotated just like the spinning ice disc spotted in the river.
In the experiment, the team gauged the flow of the water under the ice. They discovered that the surrounding water has a 39.2-degree point temperature. The water is densest at 39.2 degrees Fahrenheit. This causes the water to sink and it formed a vortex. Meanwhile, the vortex of water whirls the ice floating atop it. This explained the spinning of the discs. On the other hand, it does not explain how the disc has a perfectly round shape, according to Gizmodo.
Another common explanation of this spinning ice disc is that, as the dense and cold air gets in touch with a whirlpool in the river, there is a circular movement of water that shapes into a small and natural whirlpool, thus forms into a spinning circle. On the other hand, this could only be part of the description. This is because the melting ice discs could be anywhere from 1 to 200 meters across, and in the laws of Physics, this would cause them to behave oddly depending on the size, according to Science Alert.
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First Posted: Jan 12, 2017 03:30 AM EST
A perfect circular ice disc that is spinning appeared in Michigan's Pine River last week. It was so perfect that one could think of it that someone carved it into a perfect round shape.
The mysterious phenomenon was captured in film by Jason Robinson, who lives in Michigan. It was taken from the Schmied Road bridge over the Pine River in Michigan. He said that he has seen some cool stuff in the woods -- things people do not expect to see.
So, what causes this spinning ice disc in water? Scientists have been investigating the cause of the spinning ice discs and some of them even conducted tests. In a study that was published in the journal Physical Review E last March, the researchers from the University of Liege restructured a spinning ice scenario miniature by putting a 3.35-inch disc of ice in a one-foot-wide temperature-controlled bath. The team found that the warmer the water, the faster the little disc rotated just like the spinning ice disc spotted in the river.
In the experiment, the team gauged the flow of the water under the ice. They discovered that the surrounding water has a 39.2-degree point temperature. The water is densest at 39.2 degrees Fahrenheit. This causes the water to sink and it formed a vortex. Meanwhile, the vortex of water whirls the ice floating atop it. This explained the spinning of the discs. On the other hand, it does not explain how the disc has a perfectly round shape, according to Gizmodo.
Another common explanation of this spinning ice disc is that, as the dense and cold air gets in touch with a whirlpool in the river, there is a circular movement of water that shapes into a small and natural whirlpool, thus forms into a spinning circle. On the other hand, this could only be part of the description. This is because the melting ice discs could be anywhere from 1 to 200 meters across, and in the laws of Physics, this would cause them to behave oddly depending on the size, according to Science Alert.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone