When riding in a car, if the air vent is not pointed at you directly but while the car is turning left or right in a turn you can feel the air hitting you. What causes this?
In: Planetary Science
It’s probably because the air pressure and direction change with the car’s motion. When you turn the car, the vents shift slightly, and the air flow trajectory changes, temporarily directing the flow toward you. It’s like when you blow on your hand and move your head side to side, you can feel the air hit different parts of your hand.
The air has momentum so it will keep going in the direction it was going but you are changing your direction so you go into the path of the air.
Think of a very loose string attached to your rear mirror. It will do the same thing just the air isnt attached to anything so it will keep going until it hits something or runs out of speed.
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It’s probably to do with the way the airflow changes direction when the car turns. The air inside the car is moving with the car, so when you turn, that direction shifts a bit and you feel the breeze hitting you different. It’s like physics doing its thing, using inertia or whatever. 路♂️
It’s all about the change in direction and velocity of the air flow that gets affected by the car’s movement. When you turn, the air from the vent, which was initially going straight, has to adjust its path to match the turn, and that adjustment can make it feel like it’s hitting you. Basically, the air’s inertia causes it to temporarily move in a slightly different direction, making it more noticeable. 🌬️🚗
It’s all about the angle of the airflow. When you turn, the air coming out of the vent shifts direction due to inertia. Basically, the air keeps moving straight while the car is turning, so it ends up hitting you differently. Simple physics!
Think of air as a liquid. When a car turns, it sloshes in the car.
Check this *SmarterEveryDay* video, Destin explains it beautifully: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8mzDvpKzfY
What happens when you toss a ball in the air (assume an open top car) and _then_ the car drives off? The ball does not come along for the ride.
Similarly, if you toss it up in the air while driving and then brake, the ball will not brake with you.
The same happens if the ball is in the air a tiny bit in a closed roof car, the effect is just less pronounced because you can’t throw it as high.
Whether the car brakes, or turns to the side, in either case it’s just a change in the car’s movement vector. Either the direction or magnitude (or both) change.
The air from the vent is a different temp than all the other air. It is like a gaseous from of that ball we just studied. It won’t keep its shape but it will not blindly follow the car while it (the AC air) is up in the air.
So really, the AC air in a turning car behaves just like (our first example) that ball you threw up in the air and then have the car start driving. Just like the ball, the AC air has no physical reason to keep itself aligned to the car’s changing situation, because it is not connected to the car right now.
_Alternate option I considered: why does the drink in your glass slosh around when you walk and turn around?_
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