POINTS TO PONDER

[Rowdy]

I had heard something in another thread which in turn jogged my mind onto something I have pondered when bored out of my skull...

Why is it when you open your fridge you don't spawn baby tornadoes or at least a mini thunderstorm? Most Oklahoma homes are somewhat "warm and moist" and when you open up the fridge you are releasing a man-made "cold front". When the two interact, you should have at least some funnel cloud action albeit it small in size. What's the difference between the upper atmosphere and what happens in Aunt Betty's kitchen in Weleetka?

Air is air and moisture is moisture.  I woke up at 3am and couldn't sleep.  This does not help but fuel the fire for points to ponder.

Now where's my caffeine...

[sgrizzle]

Maybe you create the world's smallest tornado.

[mr.jaynes]

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

Maybe you create the world's smallest tornado.

Hmmm, control of global weather. Where were you back in 2005 whilst we on the Gulf were going through or little crisis?

[Rowdy]

Does anybody have gloves in their glove compartment?  What are some of the items in your glove compartment right now?

I have...

Insurance Verification Card
Manual

eh, that's it.

[RecycleMichael]

I keep my glove compartment fully stocked.

It contains OJ Simpson's missing glove, a blowgun and some poison darts, passports with multiple names, water purification tablets, an electronic poker game, three bit-o-honey candy bars and a hat that says "I'm with Stupid".

Just the essentials.

[AMP]

Phil Henry, Gary Henry's son and Wat Henry's grandson used to throw major parties at his parent’s home.  They had an enormous indoor heated pool and poolroom.  Phil would crank the temp gauge on both the room and the pool to the maximum on Friday morning before his parents left to travel out of state.  He would also choose the coldest night of the winter.  

Around 3am Sunday morning, when it was at the peak of the party and both temperatures inside and outside had also peaked, he would hit the switch that opened the roof of the poolroom.  Most times there would be whirlwinds formed which you could see as the high moisture content of the air from the steam off the water in the pool condensed leaving the chamber.  

This was a major highlight of the winter for many that attended his parties.  One of those had to been there to understand type deals. It was quite a sight to see and feel as it almost formed a thunderstorm and the pressure change, sounds and visuals were awesome. Not sure how it affected the structure of that automatic roof system.

Both his grandparents and parents have passed on from this world, so I can now tell this story without getting him written out of the Will.

[Rowdy]

quote:Originally posted by AMP

Phil Henry, Gary Henry's son and Wat Henry's grandson used to throw major parties at his parent’s home.  They had an enormous indoor heated pool and poolroom.  Gary would crank the temp gauge on both the room and the pool to the maximum on Friday morning before his parents left to travel out of state.  He would also choose the coldest night of the winter.  

Around 3am Sunday morning, when it was at the peak of the party and both temperatures inside and outside had also peaked, he would hit the switch that opened the roof of the poolroom.  Most times there would be whirlwinds formed which you could see as the high moisture content of the air from the steam off the water in the pool condensed leaving the chamber.  

This was a major highlight of the winter for many that attended his parties.  One of those had to been there to understand type deals. It was quite a sight to see and feel as it almost formed a thunderstorm and the pressure change, sounds and visuals were awesome. Not sure how it affected the structure of that automatic roof system.

Both his grandparents and parents have passed on from this world, so I can now tell this story without getting him written out of the Will.

That brought a tear to my eye.

[Rowdy]

We are born with 350 bones, and die with 206.

[TheArtist]

Ever notice that after you have done the laundry there is always a missing sock? I have determined that female socks must be like the female praying mantis and will sometimes eat the male sock when mating. This also solves the riddle of where lint balls come from. They are actually sock larvae.


The other day I learned that the earth is actually not round... it is flattened at the poles and bulges around the middle. This shape is called an "oblate spheroid". My never ending curiosity led me on a quest to determine why this is so. At the local library I found a globe and through my keen intellect and vast scientific reasoning skills I determined that this shape is caused by the constant pressure applied by the wing nuts holding it at the poles.  

[cannon_fodder]

Rowdy, it does spawn mini storms.

When you open your freezer on a hot humid day note the fog that rolls out.  In essence, these are clouds that are rapidly formed when the warm air in your house is condensed by the cold and the moister is forced to condense into clouds.

Fortunately, the effect is extremely localize and as the cold air drops it draws in warmer air as well as descends into warmer air.  Allowing the water vapor to be reabsorbed into the air (since the moister came from the ambient air in your home, there has to be room for it to return).  In a thunderstorm, the upper atmosphere is equally saturated, but instead of pulling in air that can accommodate the saturation it pulls in more moist air.  Leading to a chain of events that culminates in a thunderstorm.

I haven't taken a meteorology course since high school, but that's my take.  I'd venture to guess I'm somewhat close.

[sauerkraut]

It's too small to have any effect, and the cold air rapidly warms up in the room. There is also no lightning and they say lightning plays a part in the making of storms. There is also no steady supply of cold air to feed any air currents, and the air pressure is not low enough. JMO, thanx.[^]

[shadows]

Wow, that must be strong beer in the ice boxes that you take out at 3:AM causing the atmosphere conditions.

Perchance do you see any little men coming out?

Or lightly dressed women?

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by TheArtist

Ever notice that after you have done the laundry there is always a missing sock? I have determined that female socks must be like the female praying mantis and will sometimes eat the male sock when mating. This also solves the riddle of where lint balls come from. They are actually sock larvae.


The other day I learned that the earth is actually not round... it is flattened at the poles and bulges around the middle. This shape is called an "oblate spheroid". My never ending curiosity led me on a quest to determine why this is so. At the local library I found a globe and through my keen intellect and vast scientific reasoning skills I determined that this shape is caused by the constant pressure applied by the wing nuts holding it at the poles.  

[}:)]

You MUST have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express at some point. []

Did you know that on some GPS units, the geometry/trig model does not allow for the bulging at the equator?  I've read that GPS units which give altitude measurement and are not equipped with the correction will show you are 25 miles above the earth at the equator!

[cannon_fodder]

The bulge at the equator isnt 25 miles, is it?  I was under the impression that it was a small amount.

Here is some math on the subject.  I didnt really try to follow the conversation.  I just smiled and nodded while reading it:
http://www.mathpages.com/home/kmath182.htm

Nasa says the difference in diameter from pole to pole vs. along the equator is 26.58 miles.  So at any given point it would be 13 miles higher than at the pole pretending that the satellites orbit at a universal position and all that jazz (que hand shiver). The difference is larger than I thought... but I would think most would be calibrated to work better closer to the equator than the poles... since most people live in the middle areas.   I'm way out of my element here.  

http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/earth_worldbook.html

[Conan71]

Keep in mind, this was something I read in one of my sailing magazines (Good Old Boat, I think).  You know how sailors always tell tall tales. []

As I remember from the story there are several GPS protocols.  Apparently the lat/long grid is slightly off-set with different protocols depending on where the datum is for the global chart.  I think that's the essence of it.  

That explaination might not pass muster with a room full of tech geeks but it sure would sound impressive in a barroom full of concrete finishers. []