Irony alert

"Destroy the young demagogue before he becomes another Ralph Nader." - Charles Colson, writing about the young John Kerry, in a secret memo to Richard Nixon. Colson and Nixon feared Kerry would use his charisma to turn the American public against the Vietnam War.


How does the hurricane obtain its energy?

From the BBC:

Great amounts of energy are transferred when warm water is evaporated from tropical seas. This energy is stored within the water vapour contained in moist air. As this air ascends, 90% of the stored energy is released by condensation, giving rise to the towering cumulus clouds and rain.

The release of heat energy warms the air locally causing a further decrease in pressure aloft. Consequently, air rises faster to fill this area of low pressure, and more warm moist air is drawn off the sea feeding further energy to the system. Thus a self-sustaining heat engine is created.

Only as little as 3% of the heat energy may be converted mechanical energy of the circulating winds. This relatively small amount of mechanical energy equates to a power supply of 360 billion kilowatt hours per day - or 6 months supply of electrical energy for the whole of the USA!
5.9.04 15:57
 


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