Stopping a tornado

Post Reply New Topic

The tornado only exists within the supercell cloud formation (about 60,000 ft. or so) so a nuclear blast, in theory, could consume the entire tornado and be powerful enough to overtake it. Of course timing would have to be perfect and I really hope that no one out there is actually going to attempt it. It would kind of be like jumping into a tub of acid to get rid of a patch of eczema.

Explosions wouldnt work.

The tornado would just reform right after the blast.

A tornado is a low air pressure zone.

The only way to stop it would be to have a huge mountain of frozen air at hand.

Put the mountain in the tornado's path.

As the twister aproaches the mountain will start to boil off and turn into gaseous air. This surplus air will bolt violently right into the tornado.
This will quickly raise the tornado's core air pressure- and instantly reduce the pressure GRADIENT with the surrounding air. Thus instandtly reducing- and finally eliminating- the violent winds. The twister would then just dissappate.

Make another tornado of equal size and speed, but make it rotate the opposite direction. Make it smash into the original and the rotation differences would make it cancel out and stop.

There is alot of energy in a super cell, with massive convection currents, that have cold and hot areas that would need to be adjusted to prevent a tornado from forming.
I highly doubt we have the technical know how to accomplish weather control on this scale, about all they can do is seed super cells to make the hail smaller.
Maybe in the future they may be able to drain off heat energy off a super cell using some sort of un-thought of particle beam, but that is in the realm of science fiction.

Stop the earth from rotating. Then eliminate the latent heat of water changing state from a gas to a liquid.

All windstorms originate with the Coriolis effect. Major storms are maintained at sea by the latent heat of water vapor condensation.

ruveyn

If we stopped the earth from rotating, tornadoes would be the least of our worries. Coriolis explains why we have easterlies and westerlies, but tornadoes form on a more microscopic scale, relatively of course. That's why toilets don't only flush counterclockwise in the southern hemisphere. Temperature doesn't have a lot to do with it either, other than the initial formation of the supercell. The main ingredient that starts rotation is upper level wind shear. It's all about vorticity. Too much shear can rip apart a storm and too little shear will often allow for a very aggressive storm in terms of precip and hail, but little or no rotation will be present. I suppose if we could control the jet stream...

Here, just to stop the brewing argument before you guys get going :

From Webster's:

Coriolis force
One entry found.

Main Entry: Coriolis force
Function: noun
Etymology: Gaspard G. Coriolis †1843 French civil engineer
Date: 1923
: an apparent force that as a result of the earth's rotation deflects moving objects (as projectiles or air currents) to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere

So ... both of you gents are a bit off. Coriolis force is indeed a rotation based definition (#5 is wrong about this being shear), but it is relating to the Earth's rotation (Ruveyn is wrong about it applying to any rotating frame of reference).

It aint that complicated.

IF the earth didnt spin and you shot a rocker due north it would land right were you aiimed it.
Since the earth spins west to east the rocket will hit a point to the west of where you aimed it. Thats the correollis effect.

IF the earth didnt spin the tropic tade winds in the northern hemsphere would blow straight south (ie be 'northerlies_, the temperate zone winds would blow straight north (ie be southerlies),and the artic winds would be northerlies.

But because of the 'corriollis effect" the trade winds, and the artic winds are both easterlies, and the winds in the temperate zone are westerlies.

According to urban legend water draining in a bath tube is effected the same way- and so are tornadoes and hurricanes- but i think all of those things much to local to be effected by the correollis effect. But more importantly storms are certainly not CAUSED by the correollis effect. they are caused by pressure gradients due to the uneven heating of earths surface and are exacertbated by humidity.

Stop air from moving? I do not think we are there. I have seen dust devils only a few foot high, and felt the change in air as I passed from one side to the other. It was a very minor wind shift, but the edge produced spinning air.

60,000 foot up, large masses moving fast, you never know till the loose end comes down and then it is late to do anything but seek cover. I have seen miles of large pines that looked like they were mowed, all twisted off at fifteen foot, very neat, and that was a small twister before a hurricane.

I have been through hurricanes, winds of 125, but F4&5 I have only seen pictures of what used to be towns. Nothing is going to stop that.

^ I'm just repeating what is in the dictionary. If you want to use a Wikipedia definition, a physics definition, or a definition from popular culture (like the rock band of the same name) feel free. Just be aware that one of you may be arguing from one definition and the other may be arguing from yet another. This will lead to a silly argument over terms and semantics until you both suddenly realize that you've agreed with each other way back on page one.