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Re: [Phys-l] atmospheric highs and lows

Just a rule of thumb. An analogy would be a gear train - one gear turns clockwise and its neighbor turns counterclockwise. However, one occasionally finds two highs or two lows adjacent to each other - sometimes two lows will coalesce into a single one, etc. Highs and lows are often not easy to spot and different groups of meteorologist will sometimes produce maps with the highs and lows in different positions.

A meteorology course is a great way to introduce students to physics. Air motion involves not only Newton's laws but also Coriolis effect due to the rotation of the earth. It's a great introduction to pressure, fluid flow, optics (rainbows,etc.), phase changes, chaos, thermodynamics, and, of course, energy. Like astronomy, students will sign up for the course even after they have met their "science requirement".

Bob at PC

-----Original Message-----
From: phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu [mailto:phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu] On Behalf Of Bernard Cleyet
Sent: Monday, June 28, 2010 2:46 AM
To: Forum for Physics Educators
Subject: Re: [Phys-l] atmospheric highs and lows

An analytic statement? A topological law?

bc


On 2010, Jun 27, , at 18:09, LaMontagne, Bob wrote:

However, if you look at a surface weather map, h
ighs usually occur between lows, and vice versa.

Bob at PC

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