63 replies to this topic

[cousin it]

^^I got into paleo-climatology when I was younger... many, many years ago, but I never really studied hurricanes. Anyway, it something to do with the coriolis effect, which is greatest at the equator. That is why we don't see anti-cyclonic hurricanes.

[cousin it]

Since someone mentioned the Coriolis effect, now seems like a good time to debunk a myth that seems to be prevalent among otherwise intelligent people.

Commonly people assume that water, when going down a drain, spins in opposite directions in the northern and southern hemispheres... simply not true.

I saw a show on the Travel Channel where Samantha Brown(God she is a hottie) visited Peru. On the show, they were at the equator, and a guy did a demonstration to show how water spins in opposite directions on opposite sides of the equatorial line. THEY WERE SCAMMED!

The Coriolis effect is infinitely small in something(in this case, a tub of water) with such a small surface area.

In areas on the equator, where tourists visit, there is always some scam artist that will demonstrate his con for a few coins.

[LISA]

gawd...you astound me with your mind you know that? I feel so ..so...slow and stunted intellectually! but that is a good thing Sman! no worries! hahaha ..keep typin and we'll keep reading!

[cousin it]

^^You are too kind. As a kid, I was very curious. One of my first recollections of science was wondering why sugar disappeared into coffee, but the level of the cup would rise when it was added... I was only 3 or 4 at the time. As I got older, I became more curious about the natural world, and why things are the way that they are. While most kids were getting guns and toy cars for Christmas , I was getting telescopes, microscopes, and chemistry sets(when they had the good stuff in them). Of course there were draw backs. By the time I was 12 or 13, I was getting into trouble for blowing shit up.

[cousin it]

When I was 13, I decided to blow up this old dead tree, but I didn't have a fuse for my bomb. so a friend stole some black powder from his dad. We reasoned that if we put the powder in tape and glue, that it would slow the reaction... wrong, but it did make it hard to light. This thing had about a 12 in fuse on it, and the grenade was stuck into a hole in the tree. I was leaning down trying to light the fuse with my friend looking over my shoulder. When the fuse finally lit, It went from the end I was trying to light, to the grenade in about 1/2 sec. So the thing blew up in our face. We were lucky we weren't killed. The grenade ended up rupturing down a seam, and all the energy was expended out the side, rather than the container fragmenting. We got a face full of splinters, and lost a bunch of hair, but other than that, we were alright.

[freedom78]

^Dangerous, sure...but was it fun?

[LISA]

^hell yeah! what are you man? a girl!?? hahaha, I kid. I had a younger brother who was in love with fire,explosives etc as well...we blew up and burned many a fine Tonka truck,Ken Doll and a Barbie Camper.good times! It is sort of weird how he turned out though...he ignored his one true calling( Paul was and is an incredible artist)to start his own business. He is successful and even with the economy the way it is, he hasn't had to lay off or fire any of his employees..makes me sort of proud of him.

[Mr. Roboto]

Air France jet likely broke apart above ocean FERNANDO DE NORONHA, Brazil – Military planes located new debris from Air France Flight 447 Wednesday while investigators focused on a nightmarish ordeal in which the jetliner broke up over the Atlantic as it flew through a violent storm. Heavy weather delayed until next week the arrival of deep-water submersibles considered key to finding the black box voice and data recorders that will help answer the question of what happened to the airliner, which disappeared Sunday with 228 people on board. But even with the equipment, the lead French investigator questioned whether the recorders would ever be found in such a deep and rugged part of the ocean. As the first Brazilian military ships neared the search area, investigators were relying heavily on the plane's automated messages to help reconstruct what happened to the jet as it flew through towering thunderstorms. They detail a series of failures that end with its systems shutting down, suggesting the plane broke apart in the sky, according to an aviation industry official with knowledge of the investigation, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the crash.

[cousin it]

^Dangerous, sure...but was it fun?

Is there anything more fun than watching something go boom... real big? And, the closer, the better. As long as no one gets hurt, too bad.

[Macker]

Remember that story I told about that old Italian Man who was staying at his son's and the circuit breaker blew.... Yes he went down to the basement and lit a candle he found.....The candle blew up because it was a pineapple (1/2 stick of TNT).... The ole fingers in a bag of ice......

[Mr. Roboto]

^Dangerous, sure...but was it fun?

Is there anything more fun than watching something go boom... real big? And, the closer, the better. As long as no one gets hurt, too bad.

That stuff always made me nervous, even when I was too immature and stupid to be nervous.

[cousin it]

There is a formula for a safe distance from explosions. It has a constant in it that is either 900 feet, or yards, so that is the minimum distance for any explosion, but hell, lets be frank, that takes all the fun out it. One of these days I'll relate a story about blowing up a tree stump in the front yard. It didn't go as planned, and the house required remodeling afterward.

[cousin it]

^^Not really remodeled, but just had to patch holes and replace glass.

[Mr. Roboto]

Mini remodel ^

[Mr. Roboto]

They are now saying that the debris found was not that of the plane. Reports also saying that people recalled seeing a large flash of light in the air, foul play is not being ruled out.