Just a theory! re tornadoes

[hefner]

Do they completely understand tornado formation? 'Last I heard, nay. I know it requires a concentrated low pressure area passing overhead. But why the tight spiral from the ground? Perhaps it sucks highly pressurized air from within the ground itself. There are surely such vast resources and pockets down there. The depleted Ogalala aquifer is merely one example. It is hard to draw gas through soil, so when finally a tiny break-through is achieved, it quickly becomes a torrent. The twist is analogous to water twisting into a drain. The ground you'd think would show injury if this is true, but perhaps that detail is camouflaged in all the other wreckage.

[infamous]

Do they completely understand tornado formation? 'Last I heard, nay. I know it requires a concentrated low pressure area passing overhead. But why the tight spiral from the ground? Perhaps it sucks highly pressurized air from within the ground itself. There are surely such vast resources and pockets down there. The depleted Ogalala aquifer is merely one example. It is hard to draw gas through soil, so when finally a tiny break-through is achieved, it quickly becomes a torrent. The twist is analogous to water twisting into a drain. The ground you'd think would show injury if this is true, but perhaps that detail is camouflaged in all the other wreckage.

 

Check out this link, http://news.uns.purdue.edu/html4ever/2005/050401.Trapp.tornado.html

 

This may have a few answers for you hefner.

[C1ay]

Tornado formation is not completely understood but enough is known to say that it is a convective process. It has nothing to do with any air in the ground. Tonadoes even form at sea becoming waterspouts. Look through these links for more info.

[Salna]

A tornado reguires two main parameters ,

1] a force which accelerates the wind and

2] continues energy input to do the acceleration.

Both factors are generated in tornado itself as the rotating air mass is pushed by gradient pressure force toward the center of rotation. The conical form of a tornado provides displacement where rotating air particles are moved .

The gradient force movement is the input energy which is used to generate acceleraiting force , which accelerates the wind to higher and higher velocities.

The accelerating force is generated by rotating particles movement in a rotating system and can be mathematically demonstrated.

For futher info. or comments contact

Karl Salna at [email protected]

[Eclogite]

Perhaps it sucks highly pressurized air from within the ground itself..

What makes you think there is highly pressurised air within the ground?

(Hint: there isn't.)

 

The depleted Ogalala aquifer is merely one example.

Depleted reservoirs have low pressures, not high pressures.

[dduckwessel]

Do they completely understand tornado formation? 'Last I heard, nay. I know it requires a concentrated low pressure area passing overhead. But why the tight spiral from the ground?

 

Perhaps you meant to say on the ground! As I understand it, the spiral doesn't come from the ground, rather pressure exerted from the top pushes it down to the ground. The spiral is wider at the top and gets increasingly smaller on the bottom because the pressure is progressively less. If sufficient pressure exists it will force the spinning air downwards until it meets resistance (the ground). The tornado acts like a spin toy. Depending upon the resistance it meets on the ground can cause it to suddenly change course. Unlike the pointy end of a spin toy however, tornados have a wider base on the bottom and so it takes much more resistance to make it change course.

 

I often see mini-tornados of dust or snow (depending on which season) created from churling wind that after spiralling for a few seconds, die out. It seemed to me they die out as they loose pressure from the top.

 

I have often wondered if the exact same spin force was introduced in the opposite direction of forming tornados, would cause it to die out immediately! Of course this opposite spin would have to be introduced just when the tornado is forming and before it has a chance to hit the ground - which is probably impossible.

 

It's interesting that spirals are everywhere in nature: fingerprints, hair at the crown of the head, galaxies, hurricanes...