Quantum Physics

Should be on the meteorologist's thread, Chris.

One thing most tornado explanations leave out is that the original rotation is often horizontal, so as an updraft punches up through the horizontal roll to tilt it upwards, you often get a right and a left rotating tornado.

If you've done a tornado in a bottle, you'll realize the rotation organizes the converging air so that air from all different directions doesn't butt heads but goes into a smooth spiral, making the updraft process more efficient.

halfwise wrote:

One thing most tornado explanations leave out is that the original rotation is often horizontal, so as an updraft punches up through the horizontal roll to tilt it upwards, you often get a right and a left rotating tornado.

Could we get a diagram please?

Sorry halfy, forgot we had that one as well.

oh I dont know ?.....................

Chemical reaction triggered by heat.

Halfwise can probably explain it way better.

Yeah to freaky science stuff! 

Petty posted something even more impressive in the oddities thread.  Was it the same stuff?

My chemistry's not so good.  I first thought that since sulfur and oxygen are in the same family, oxygen was replacing sulfur.  but searching around I found the reaction

2Hg(SCN)2 -> 2HgS + CS2 + C3N4

Which happens because, well,  ....well it's obvious, right?  And it puffs up because it's, uh, it's carbon and mercury and sulfur, right?  Because that's what you just expect it to do....

{{{ I don't get why anyone loves chemistry.  Once you get past the basic substitution reactions it's all kinda random. I couldn't have seen the C3N4 thingy coming even with binoculars and a road map. }}}

All I know is don't breath the fumes. That carbon disulfide is a nasty old-school fumigant.

comment #1: supercooled liquid caption is right on target, though part of it is having an extremely clean and polished glass.  Cloud drops don't begin to freeze until -10 C, and that's with condensation nucleii (CN) already in them (dust, sulfates, etc).  Only about 1 in 1000 CN are good ice nucleii.  Cloud seeding is based on ice nucleation, which is why you have to hit clouds just right, in the supercooled phase, or cloud seeding does jack shit.

Comment #2: I love the magnet thing.  But the first trashcan lid doesn't seem right, I don't quite follow how it hits the back and still goes forward.

Comment #3: tectonic relationships - 

Halfy - look closer at the front of the bin when the ball on the table falls off.

ah...when I went back to look it was still loading and running slow, so i had time to catch it.

FERROLIQUIDS!!!!!!!!

What is it ?

Why did only one cone get infected?

Not sure, but looks amazing.

This sort of thing is why I recommend buckie.  

thats simply amazing and wonderful stuff

whats Unified Field Theory?  and whats it got to do with the Oracle of Delphi?

Mrs Figg wrote:whats Unified Field Theory?  and whats it got to do with the Oracle of Delphi?

The first doesn't exist yet. It's the Holy Grail of physics -- a Single set of Equations that describes All Forces, from gravity to electromagnetism to subatomic bonds.

The second doesn't exist anymore. Why do you ask?

[I'm checking out for the day. I'll be back in 12 hours or so. ]