What is a surface current for kids?
Surface currents are currents that are found on the surface of the ocean water, usually found in the upper 1,300 ft. of water. The waves that you see crash into the shore at the beach are surface currents. They make up a small amount of the currents in the ocean.
What are surface and density currents?
In each ocean, the major surface currents form circular systems of currents called DENSITY CURRENTS. Earth’s ROTATION causes the Coriolis effect, which influences the direction that currents flow. DENSITY CURRENTS move water vertically toward the ocean’s surface.
What is the definition of a surface current?
Surface current is a current flowing in a plane, and has units of charge per unit time per unit length (measured in the direction in the same plane but perpendicular to the flow direction).
What causes surface currents for kids?
Surface currents are usually caused by the wind. As the wind changes, the current may change as well. Currents are also influenced by the rotation of the Earth called the Coriolis effect. This causes currents to flow clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counter clockwise in the southern hemisphere.
How is the density of ocean water calculated?
Salinity, temperature and depth all affect the density of seawater. Density is a measure of how tightly a certain amount of matter is packed into a given volume. The more the stuff is packed in, the higher the density. Density can be calculated by dividing an object’s mass by its volume.
What is an example of a density current?
Density currents in nature are exemplified by those currents that flow along the bottom of oceans or lakes. Such subaqueous currents occur because some of the water in an ocean or lake is colder or saltier or contains more suspended sediment and, thus, is denser than the surrounding waters.
What are density currents caused by?
density current A current that is produced by differences in density. Where a flow of sea water has a greater density than that surrounding it, the denser water will dive beneath the less dense water. The density of sea water is affected by temperature, salinity, and the content of suspended sediment.
What is an example of a surface current?
Two examples are the California Current (Cal) in the Pacific ocean basin and the Canary Current (Can) in the Atlantic ocean basin. The North Equatorial Current (NE) and the South Equatorial Current (SE) flow in the same direction. The SE turns south and behaves the opposite of the gyres in the Northern Hemisphere.
What causes a surface current?
Surface currents in the ocean are driven by global wind systems that are fueled by energy from the sun. Patterns of surface currents are determined by wind direction, Coriolis forces from the Earth’s rotation, and the position of landforms that interact with the currents.
What is surface current density in physics?
Definitions. Let a two-dimensional surface Σ ⊂ R3 be given, then a surface current density on Σ is a function K: Σ → R3. In other words, it is a vector field on the surface. For each point p on the surface, it physically represents the charge per unit time passing through a unit cross-sectional length on the surface.
What is the surface current density of a spinning sphere?
A surface current density K can be written as a current density J that includes Dirac deltas. For example, the surface current density of a spinning sphere of radius R with angular velocity ω and with uniform surface charge density σ fixed to it is given in spherical coordinates by
What is the SI unit of displacement current density?
The SI unit of displacement current density formula is C/m The surface charge density is a measurement of electric charges accumulated over a surface. The surface charge density can be calculated by charges per unit surface area. The SI unit of surface current density formula is Cm
What is the current density of a conductor?
If the current density is uniform, then the amount of current flowing through the conductors will remain the same at all the conductor points, which is irrespective of the size of the conductors. The SI unit of current density is Ampere per meter square. Q2. Why is Current Density Constant?