Does Running Water Create Special Fields?

A question that has intrigued me for sometime is: Does running water create: a gravitational downward pull? a down draft that would affect objects above the water? or contain a magnetic pull downwards?
- Edward Farragher (age 68)
Ontario, canada

Hi Edward,

Running water doesn't create any sort of special field.

Gravitational fields are created by mass or energy; the specific field depends on the distribution. Magnetic fields are created by moving charged objects.

Running water will have a ridiculously tiny magnetic and graviational fields associated with it, but then so does virtually every object around you. Unless you had an entire ocean of water, there wouldn't be much gravity, and since it is almost completely electrically neutral, you could never measure these fields.

The running water might create a draft of air from pressure differences or simply pushing air out of the way; you could feel or measure this effect, and may have noticed it in the shower.

Running water certainly can do some cool tricks, though. Through total internal reflection of light, it can behave like a waveguide.

I'm also reminded of a cool video involving physics-based camera tricks to make water appear to do funny things like move uphill.

Keep in mind that this isn't observed with the naked eye (because it isn't actually happening); it's an effect caused by beating two frequencies to create an illusion, like car wheels that sometimes seem to spin backwards.

Cheers,

David Schmid

(published on 08/26/2013)