The Dynamics of circular air funnels
The Winds from a Tornado are the most devastating storms
on this planet. They are also the least understood. Scientists are still trying to decipher just how these storms are formed. Using wind tunnels and other scientific devises, Meteorologists are still puzzled by this phenomena of nature.
Starting with the colder air in the Arctic colliding with the warmer air from the Gulf of Mexico , these storms are the most violent weather conditions to develop with wind speed's exceeding 200 miles an hour. It is not unusual to have several Tornado's form in a single day. Nor is it unusual to have several funnel cloud's in the same Tornado in a localized situation. Multiple vortex's may form from the same storm.
Tornado's are classified from EF1 to EF5 on the Fujitsu Scale which was developed in Japan. EF1 being the least intense and EF5 being the most intense and destructive winds. Vortex sound generation is another part of the the Tornado's effects. People caught in these storms describe the sound as that of a jet engine with a high pitch sound similar to a plane at lift off.
Tornado's mostly occur in the United States. Spain has experienced this weather phenomena but it is rare. The Central United States is the most prone area to Tornatic activity . This area is called Tornado Alley. It is located through Texas, Oklahoma and further north even into Ohio.
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Ohio has had several devastating tornado's. The Zennia Ohio Twister was one of the worst on record. This Tornado caused massive destruction to homes and businesses. The death toll from the storm was about 350 people. Mobile Home parks seemed to take the brunt of the winds.
Water spouts are another aspect of the tornado's activity. These are Tornado's formed over water, usually in the ocean . Water spouts do not have the intensity of Tornado's over land, but still pose the potential to be destructive to ships and small boat's. These storms are much smaller due to the fact that they are not over land, so the up draft is not as strong. Being over water there is no debris hazard due to the fact that the water spout only picks up water. They usually die out when they hit land, losing most of their energy.
There are other area's of the United States that experience this type weather Phenomena, California has quite a few tornado's, just not on the scale of Tornado's in the central and eastern part of the country. The Lake Elsinore area is prone to this type of weather pattern and is considered Southern California's Tornado Alley.
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Tornado's prefer flat , level area's to travel through and usually follow the path of least resistance. If they strike an Urban center the damage can be unbelievable. If caught in the open when a Tornado strikes one should look for the lowest possible area such as a trench to ride out the storm. Do not seek refuge under tree's, they can attract lightening, acting as a lightening rod.
Scientist's still are not sure exactly how the cyclonic winds of a Tornado function.
Some meteorologists feel it is due to the earth's rotation while others feel it is some type of phenomena inside the storm it's self. There are reports of tornado's reaching speeds of up to 500 miles an hour. These storms are called ''Hypercanes'', but are very rare. Hypercane's are also associated with Hurricane's.
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Tornado's are usually associated with thunder storm's and hale. This seems to be part of how a tornado is formed. The cold northern air collides with the warmer southern air creating a circular motion in the atmosphere. Tornado's may also be associated with wild fire's. The vortex may actually lift the fire into the spinning winds. This is called a fire storm and can be an extremely dangerous situation to be in. These winds are capable of moving very quickly with little chance of escape. Many fire fighters have lost their live's to fire storm's. The tragedy of this is most of these fire's are intentionally set.
Tornado's are capable of moving very quickly, and are able to jump several miles before landing again. One should never try to view these storms. Anyone in the path of a Tornado should seek shelter immediately .
There have been several cases where the victim was viewing the storm from a distance and suddenly were trapped when the Tornado landed just yards from them.
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There are cases of people being caught in a
tornado and never seen again. Houses in many cases are simply ripped apart. Mobile homes for some reason seem to be quite vulnerable to these storms. These homes may be carried for some distance by these winds.
Tornado's will always be with us. It's just a question of how to manage this emergency situation properly. One should always be prepared to evacuate immediately in the event of a tornado warning.
At home, an emergency kit should be on hand at all times . This includes food, water, personal hygiene, a basic set of tools, and a supply of essential medicine .
Camping gear and supplies are a good idea due to the fact they may be stored for quite a while.
By
Kenneth Lafler
The Western Science Center is located in Hemet, California. It is next to the Dam at Diamond Valley Lake. There are two sections. One on the building and construction of the dam and one on the Dinosaur bones discovered during the excavations.
Research and persevation of the fossils is an on going project at the Science Center and the find is studied by quite a few experts in the field. The Center is a rare opportunity to view such fossils in this condition, some only dating back about 25,000 years.
Most of Riverside County had this type of preshistoric wild life in the vacinity. While excavating the dam, which is the 8th largest dam in the world by volume. the fossil remains were discovered and preserved.
These include, Mammoths, Saber Tooth Tigers, and many other types of prehistoric life. In fact this find is considered more significant than the La Brea Tar PIts.
Bertrand Russel belived that this world revolved around Skepticism . He felt our logic was vague and self -contradicting .
He felt science depended mainly on
1. Memory (Past Occurrences)
2. Testimony ( Sounds Heard)
3. And Inference
He felt that we cannot know anything as with his examples of the Policeman giving directions (No offence to the law enforcement agencies ) How do we know it's not a wax figure with a speaker( Phosophy and Contemporay Issues ) . This is Perception.
Descartes unlike Russell felt we can know through reason . He felt that because he doubted ( this is the methodology of doubt ) that he did exist and was a "thinking thing".
I doubt everything was Descartes line of reasoning.
He felt intuition was important which involves .jpg)
Clarity
Faith
Reason
Also his Principle of causology .
1. No effect can happen without a cause.
2. The cause must be greater than the effect or the effect cannot occur . C is greater than E .
Also his idea of perception.
1. People are not perfect. . they can't be a cause .
2. He felt God is the only perfect being
3. That God does exist.
By
Kenneth Lafler
The word Mesopotamia means "The Land between the Rivers" . Today this area is mostly in Iraq and parts of Turkey . The Mesopotamian Civilization seems to have developed earlier than that of the Egyptians . About 9,000 B. C. the inhabitants of the Zagros foothills began the domestication of plants and animals .This took place in Egypt about 5000 to 4000 B. C.
In Mesopotamia the Sumerians had developed Cuneiform a wedge shaped form of writing by about 3,500 B. C. In Egypt , Hieroglyphics were not developed until about 3,100 B. C.
Egypt was also unified at this time, which is another contrast with Mesopotamia , which was never a unified country.
About 2700 -2600 B. C. was the beginning of the Old Kingdom in Egypt , which is considered the Pyramid Building Era . In Mesopotamia a ruler named Gil-Gamesh was the ruling monarch and also the Royal Cemetery was established . This left a treasure trove for Archaeologists later to discover .
About 2,500 B. C. Egypt entered the middle Kingdom . In Mesopotamia Ur-namu had just established the Third Dynasty of Ur.
About 1800 Hammurabi , the great law giver, had taken the throne and Egypt was was still in the Middle Kingdom .
About 1600 Mesopotamia was invaded by the Hittites ending Hammurabi's Dynasty , and Egypt entered the New Kingdom . Hammurabi is known for his codes of law which are considered some of the first set of legal rules for things such as litigation .
Both civilizations depended heavily on their rivers. But the Nile was a much more "dependable river" than the Tigris and Euphrates in the Iraq area today .
The Egyptians Seemed to have a more Positive view of things as shown in their art. There also was more cultural stability in Egypt Because of the annual harvest.
Irrigation of the rivers was very important in both cultures.
Because of construction needs a large work force was needed to be established to work on the aqueduct's giving rise to a self-sustaining bureaucracy .
Also the stable food supply from this enabled the population to grow.
Egypt was very isolated from the other cultures and had few major outside invasions.
Mesopotamia on the other hand was constantly being invaded and so had more outside contact .
Egypt also had little elaborate trade with the outside world , where as Mesopotamia had extensive trade dealings .
Egypt's trade was also controlled by the government . Mesopotamia's trade was on a more independent level.
Egypt was ruled by a person thought to be a god . Because of this the Egyptians seemed to feel no need for a set of written laws . The Pharaoh's word was law.
The Egyptian view of afterlife is also different , being based on the quality of a man's earthly life and behavior .
Also there was no ridged class structure in Egypt . There seemed to be only the royal family and their advisers. The rest of the population were considered commoners.
By
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Kenneth Lafler
Bibliography -
Early Man - Chester A. Star - excellent source of information on the Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations ,and other Cultures and Civilizations
They wrote on Clay - Another excellent source of information .
Everyday Life in Babylonia - Describes the day to day existence of the Sumerian's and Babylonian's
The Medieval Mind - College level reading - In depth Look at the way people thought during that period of time .
The Internet
The History Channel
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