What are vortices?

Vortices are swirling whirlpools you can see in water or feel in the wind.

Imagine you're playing with a spoon in your bathtub. You stir the water, and it starts to swirl around the spoon, that’s a vortex! It's like when you twirl around in a circle and your hair flares out, the water is doing something similar, just in a bigger or smaller version.

A vortex happens when something moves fast enough to make the air or liquid around it twist. Think of leaves swirling around a drain as they go down the sink, that’s also a vortex! The faster things move, the stronger the swirl gets.

You can find vortices in nature too: tornadoes are like giant vortices in the sky, and whirlpools in the ocean are big underwater vortices. Even when you open a fridge door quickly, sometimes the air inside makes a little vortex that makes your hair fly, it's just a tiny one!

So next time you see swirling water or feel a gust of wind, remember: that’s a vortex having fun!