Eddies Like Black Holes?

    Published: 06-16-2009
    Views: 9,500
    New satellite data show mathematical symmetry same for black holes in space and ocean eddies.

     Scientists from ETH Zurich and the University of Miami say that some of the largest ocean eddies on Earth are mathematically equivalent to black holes in space. An ocean eddy forms from a current that has been pinched off to form a circular current.   Ocean eddies are on the rise in the Southern Ocean, bringing warm water northward…which could have an impact on our climate. Like a black hole, nothing escapes an eddy, not even water, but their boundaries have been difficult to determine.  Using satellite data, scientists were able to isolate where fluid particles move around in closed loops—like how light moves around a black hole in a photon sphere.   Nothing escapes the inner loop—like a black hole.  Determining the exact boundaries of water eddies on our oceans will help scientists determine the impact they have on climate.