The Charybdis is an inverted fountain designed by William Pye and if you think about a tornado twisting its way around then you will have a good idea as to what the vortex fountain actually looks like.
208[Image Courtesy of WiliamPye]
The difference being that the “tornado” part is actually inside the water, while the water flows over the edges of the fountain. It is stunning and mesmerising to watch and has been located at Seaham Hall in England.
charybdis_water_sculpture_vortex_fountain_william_pye5[Image Courtesy of WiliamPye]
While Pye has worked on other vortex water sculptures this at the time of its conception was actually the biggest. The Charybdis is made from a clear acrylic polymer cylinder, the same material he chose to use in the Clearwater Cube.
charybdis_water_sculpture_vortex_fountain_william_pye3[Image Courtesy of WiliamPye]
The acrylic polymer meant that he could explore different ways to extend his work and the challenge of working with water, which can be very challenging. To ensure that the project worked ahigh level of filtration was needed to make sure that the transparency was maintained.
charybdis_water_sculpture_vortex_fountain_william_pye1-2[Image Courtesy of WiliamPye]
The name of the vortex fountain came about after the sirens who were said to reside in the Sicilian Sea by the names of Charybdis and Scylla. According to the tale, Charybdis stole the heart of Hercules and so Zeus hit her with a thunderbolt, which was said to have changed her into a whirlpool and her vortex swallowed up ships that came into her path. In the Charybdis, this circular movement of water sits inside the acrylic transparent cylinder andforms an air-core vortex directly in the centre. Steps were implemented into the design so that people could see the vortex from above.
209[Image Courtesy of WiliamPye]
The same materials were used in the making of the Clearwater Cube. This was designed along withArabella Lennox Boyd, who had a garden at the Chelsea Flower Show 2000 in the UK and which earned her a gold medal. This happened to be the first time that the artist had expressed the interior of a vessel by transparency and it was from this that he found that he could manipulate water in a different way. Acrylic was chosen thanks to the fact that it doesn’t have colour and it doesn’t distort the form as does glass, thanks to it having the apparent density of water.
charybdis_water_sculpture_vortex_fountain_william_pye2[Image Courtesy of WiliamPye]
Via [WilliamPye]
Source:http://interestingengineering.com/