We represent the meridional temperature gradient by placing an ice bucket at the center of a tank of water: the water plays the role of the atmosphere. Earth’s rotation is captured by placing the tank on a turntable, as shown in the diagram below. The resulting rotating annulus experiment is a useful analogue of many aspects of atmospheric circulation enabling it to be studied in a controlled setting.
Notes on setting up the Hadley Cell experiment and computing the radial heat flux can be found here.
For more see:
Weather in a Tank – General Circulation – Tank Hadley
and
Weather in a Tank – General Circulation – Tank Eddies.