There are three stages to a thunderstorm’s life cycle: the cumulus stage, the mature stage, and the dissipation stage. When a thunderstorm begins to form, it does so at the cumulus stage. From there, the storm advances in severity until it reaches its peak at the mature stage and then begins to gradually die out …
An air circulator is basically a fan. Although the term “air circulator” most often refers to an industrial fan that is used in a warehouse, factory, or office building, it can also refer to a regular household fan. Air circulators also refer to air conditioning units and other types of air cooling devices. They are …
A tsunami is formed when there is an earthquake, volcanic eruption or, more rarely, a landslide underwater. Typically, neither the earthquake, eruption or landslide are felt because they are so deep under water. However, the actions that have taken place are the first steps that lead to a massive tsunami that can cause tremendous damage …
The Coriolis effect is the tendency for a moving body that is on or above the Earth’s surface to drift sideways from its intended course due to the Earth’s rotation. The direction of drift is to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. This is because the Earth’s …
An earthquake is caused when two blocks or plates of the Earth slip past each other in the lateral, vertical, or a combination of directions in a sudden manner. Due to the large pressures that develop between the Earth’s plates along fault lines at the Earth’s surface, one of the bodies will eventually give way. …
A psychrometer is a type of hygrometer and is used exclusively to determine the relative humidity or moisture content in the air. Psychrometers represent an older humidity measurement form and electronic sensors that depend on changes in electrical resistance and capacitance rather than condensation temperature have widely replaced them. However, psychrometers are still found in …
An air scrubber is a device that removes particles, gases, or chemicals from the air in a specific area. Air scrubbers are very important in some industries as workers are frequently exposed to harmful substances. Most air scrubbers are made for a specific type of air purification but some are made to handle particles, gases, …
Hurricanes are caused by immense low pressured formed over the warm oceans in the summer and early fall months. With this low pressure, water vapor is evaporated off of the ocean surface. This water vapor releases the latent heat of condensation which causes all of the water to begin forming into clouds. This condensation forms …
An ultrasonic fogger is a device that uses ultrasonic sound waves to break water into millions of individual water droplets that are then sprayed into the air as a thick fog. Ultrasonic foggers are most often used for Halloween decorations as a dry ice replacement. The fog that an ultrasonic fogger produces is not created …
Weather modification refers to willful manipulation of the climate or local weather. Research done in this field goes back to as far as the early 1940s when the US military experimented with cloud seeding to stimulate rain. Today, private corporations have joined the weather modification research effort to protect people, cities and assets from the …