- Joined
- Dec 16, 2004
- Location
- Palm Bay Florida
Dolphin Rings
The attached video is of dolphins playing with
silver colored rings which they have the ability to make under water to
play with. It isn't known how they learn this, or if they're born with
the ability.
As if by magic, the dolphin does a quick flip of
its head and a silver ring appears in front of its beak. The ring is a
solid, donut shaped bubble about 2-ft across, yet it doesn't rise to the
surface of the water.
It stands upright in the water like a magic
doorway to an unseen dimension.
The dolphin then pulls a small silver donut from
the larger one. Looking at the twisting ring for one last time, a bite
is taken from it, causing the small ring to collapse into thousands of
tiny bubbles which head upward towards th e wate r's surface. After a
few moments the dolphin creates another ring to play with. There also
seems to be a separate mechanism for producing small rings, which a
dolphin can accomplish by a quick flip of its head.
An explanation of how dolphins make these silver
rings is that they are 'air-core vortex rings'. Invisible, spinning
vortices in the water are generated from the tip of a dolphin's dorsal
fin when it is moving rapidly and turning. When dolphins break the line,
the ends are drawn together into a closed ring. The higher velocity
fluid around the core of the vortex is at a lower pressure than the
fluid circulating farther away. Air is injected into the rings via
bubbles released from the dolphin's blowhole. The energy of the water
vortex is enough to keep the bubbles from rising for a few seconds of
play time.
The attached video is of dolphins playing with
silver colored rings which they have the ability to make under water to
play with. It isn't known how they learn this, or if they're born with
the ability.
As if by magic, the dolphin does a quick flip of
its head and a silver ring appears in front of its beak. The ring is a
solid, donut shaped bubble about 2-ft across, yet it doesn't rise to the
surface of the water.
It stands upright in the water like a magic
doorway to an unseen dimension.
The dolphin then pulls a small silver donut from
the larger one. Looking at the twisting ring for one last time, a bite
is taken from it, causing the small ring to collapse into thousands of
tiny bubbles which head upward towards th e wate r's surface. After a
few moments the dolphin creates another ring to play with. There also
seems to be a separate mechanism for producing small rings, which a
dolphin can accomplish by a quick flip of its head.
An explanation of how dolphins make these silver
rings is that they are 'air-core vortex rings'. Invisible, spinning
vortices in the water are generated from the tip of a dolphin's dorsal
fin when it is moving rapidly and turning. When dolphins break the line,
the ends are drawn together into a closed ring. The higher velocity
fluid around the core of the vortex is at a lower pressure than the
fluid circulating farther away. Air is injected into the rings via
bubbles released from the dolphin's blowhole. The energy of the water
vortex is enough to keep the bubbles from rising for a few seconds of
play time.
Last edited by a moderator:
Thank you for sharing!
.
