Gyre (disambiguation)
Encyclopedia
A gyre is any manner of swirling vortex
, particularly a natural phenomenon. It can refer to
Vortex
A vortex is a spinning, often turbulent,flow of fluid. Any spiral motion with closed streamlines is vortex flow. The motion of the fluid swirling rapidly around a center is called a vortex...
, particularly a natural phenomenon. It can refer to
- An ocean gyre, its most common meaning.
- A cycloneCycloneIn meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth. This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. Most large-scale...
or hurricane. - A maelstromMaelstromA maelstrom is a very powerful whirlpool; a large, swirling body of water. A free vortex, it has considerable downdraft. The power of tidal whirlpools tends to be exaggerated by laymen. There are virtually no stories of large ships ever being sucked into a maelstrom, although smaller craft are in...
or other type of whirlpoolWhirlpoolA whirlpool is a swirling body of water usually produced by ocean tides. The vast majority of whirlpools are not very powerful. More powerful ones are more properly termed maelstroms. Vortex is the proper term for any whirlpool that has a downdraft...
. - A tornadoTornadoA tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
. - USNS Gyre (T-AGOR-21)USNS Gyre (T-AGOR-21)USNS Gyre – also known as R/V Gyre -- was the lead ship of her class of oceanographic research ships acquired by the U.S. Navy in 1973...
, a research ship. - William Butler YeatsWilliam Butler YeatsWilliam Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms...
(1865–1939) used the term gyre in some of his poems, the most prominent being The Second Coming (poem)The Second Coming (poem)"The Second Coming" is a poem composed by Irish poet William Butler Yeats in 1919 and first printed in The Dial and afterwards included in his 1921 collection of verses titled Michael Robartes and the Dancer. The poem uses Christian imagery regarding the Apocalypse and second coming as allegory to...
. A gyre is one of two inverted vorticesVortexA vortex is a spinning, often turbulent,flow of fluid. Any spiral motion with closed streamlines is vortex flow. The motion of the fluid swirling rapidly around a center is called a vortex...
that overlap quite considerably. They visually represent the coming of a new era. Yeats believed this happened every 2000 years. Generally the new era that comes is the direct opposite of the era that has just passed.