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Asked by aileenjcat to Colin, John, Kevin, Shikha, Triona on 12 Nov 2014. This question was also asked by Roy Heyneman.
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Kevin Motherway answered on 12 Nov 2014:
We’re always talking about 3D. well thats three dimensions (horizontal, vertical and depth) X, y and Z axis. In your ear you have 3 detectors, one for each axis and they essentally are made up of little stones that brush off little nerve hairs in a tube filled with fluid (they’re called the semi-circular canals). When you spin you’re not just turning left or right you’re setting your whole body in motion including these stones. When you suddenly stop the stones keep moving sending false signals that you’re still moving “hey brain we’re still spinning” But your brain also gets the signal from your eyes “hey the world is not spinning any more I’m standing still” These 2 contradicting signals can make you feel dizzy and very ill until the stones settle and all the signals agree and make sense.
To check this out phenomenon out: get a hard boiled egg and a raw egg (both still in their shells). They look and feel identical. Spin each one on a counter. Stop the boiled egg gently with your finger and straight away lift your finger up again and it stays stopped. Do the same to the raw egg and it’ll start spinning again (slower than before), ‘cos the fluid inside is still spinning and starts the shell spinning again once you let it go. Same happens in your semicircular canals!
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Shikha Sharma answered on 17 Nov 2014:
Hi aileenjcat and Roy Heyneman.
Our ears play a very important role in balancing the body. Our inner ear is made up of three semi-circular canals filled with liquid. A segment of these canals have hairs which detects movement in the fluid. Even when we turn the fluid also moves slightly and the hairs notice this movement and convert it into electrical signals that tell our muscles to adjust and keep us balanced. But when we spin over and over again, the fluid gains momentum and even when we stop, the fluid keeps moving. So as the fluid in ears keeps spinning, we keep on getting messages telling us we’re still spinning. All these confusing and contradictory messages cause our muscles to move us off balance and our vision to get very mixed up – this gives us the feeling of dizziness.
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