Re: [Phys-l] Entrainment of oil in Hurricane?

["LaMontagne, Bob" <RLAMONT@providence.edu>]

??? Where is the high pressure?

There is a strong pressure gradient between the surrounding air and the core of the tornado. The inflowing air has to rise and those strong winds from the pressure gradient can move pretty substantial objects. Nothing is "sucked up" - it's just wind.

Bob at PC

________________________________________
From: phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu [phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu] On Behalf Of John Clement [clement@hal-pc.org]
Sent: Friday, June 25, 2010 6:39 PM
To: 'Forum for Physics Educators'
Subject: Re: [Phys-l] Entrainment of oil in Hurricane?

But tornados also have high pressure which creates huge wind velocities.  So
while suction (removal of pressure forces) will not do, air resistance can
work quite well to elevate cows to great heights, and water is even easier
when dispersed into droplets.

There is even a well known case of a whole occupied house going aloft along
with an old lady on a bicycle ;}

John M. Clement
Houston, TX

> Ah yes, I thought this might be the unspoken concern. It's a physics
> thing - that water cannot be pumped up more than 33 feet in a suction
> pump.   The engineer's way of suction-pumping water up more than twice
> that Torricellian limit, is by adjusting the water-density that the pump
> has to deal with.

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