Bill Nye the Science Guy 0516 Storms

00:19:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rX62ZExDco

Summary

TLDRThis educational video, led by Bill Nye the Science Guy, delves into the science of storms and extreme weather conditions. It begins by outlining how storms form due to the sun's heat, water in the atmosphere, and Earth's rotation. Special focus is given to El Niño, a weather pattern causing warmer seas and chaos globally, leading to the death of fish and intense storms. The video explains the formation of lightning and thunder, emphasizing safety tips during thunderstorms such as avoiding tall objects and minimizing ground contact. The science behind tornadoes is also explained, showing how they form when warm and cold air masses collide and discussing how their spinning nature is studied in laboratories. Hurricanes and typhoons receive attention too, showcasing their energy release through water vapor condensation. Additionally, the video touches on planetary storms like those on Jupiter, considerably larger and longer-lasting due to the planet's size and speed of rotation.

Takeaways

  • 🌪️ Storms are complex systems influenced by heat, water, and Earth's rotation.
  • 🔥 El Niño can drastically change weather patterns by warming ocean waters.
  • ⚡ Lightning occurs when electrons discharge through a conductive path like the ground.
  • 🌩️ Thunder is the sound from rapidly expanding air heated by lightning.
  • 🌬️ Tornadoes form from powerful interactions between cold and hot air masses.
  • 🌀 Jupiter’s enormous storm has lasted centuries, powered by its size and spin.
  • 🌧️ Avoid being the highest point and limit ground contact during thunderstorms.
  • 🌊 Hurricanes arise from the ocean, fueled by sun-heated waters and energy release.
  • 🔮 Laboratory models help scientists understand tornado dynamics.
  • ☔ El Niño’s warming effects lead to stormy global weather conditions.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    The video starts with an engaging science theme, where Bill Nye explains that storms are extreme weather events caused by the sun's heat, water in the atmosphere, and Earth's spin. Using a storm simulator, he demonstrates how warm air rises and cooler air flows in, creating the conditions for storms. As air flows from different directions, it can start to spin, leading to extreme weather conditions.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    Bill Nye delves into the phenomenon of El Niño, explaining it as an abnormal weather pattern over the Eastern Pacific that alters global weather, causing storms and changing sea conditions. El Niño is characterized by warm ocean water, affecting weather worldwide, leading to intense and unpredictable weather events. He touches on the formation of large storms like hurricanes and typhoons, highlighting how they gather energy from warm ocean waters, spin due to Earth's rotation, and have destructive potential when moving onto land.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:19:00

    The focus shifts to the formation and effects of lightning and tornadoes. Lightning is explained as the discharge of static electricity from clouds, while tornadoes form from air masses of different temperatures interacting. The video emphasizes safety during thunderstorms, advising not to shelter under trees and demonstrating how air currents and conditions contribute to tornado formation. Finally, it explores storms on other planets, using Jupiter's Great Red Spot as an example of a long-lasting storm sustained by the planet's size and rapid rotation.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • What causes storms?

    Storms are caused by the heat of the sun, water in the air, and the Earth's rotation.

  • What effect does El Niño have on global weather?

    El Niño causes unseasonably warm weather and more frequent and powerful storms globally.

  • What happens when hot and cold air masses meet?

    When hot and cold air masses meet, they can cause phenomena like tornadoes as the hot air rises rapidly.

  • How do tornadoes form?

    Tornadoes form when hot air punches through a cold air mass and starts spinning due to temperature differences.

  • What is lightning?

    Lightning is a flow of electrons causing a large-scale discharge, visible as a bright flash.

  • What safety precautions should be taken during a storm?

    During a storm, avoid being the highest point in an area and reduce contact with the ground to avoid lightning strikes.

  • What are hurricanes and typhoons?

    Hurricanes and typhoons are large storms formed over oceans when warm air rises carrying water vapor, releasing energy and driving winds when the vapor condenses.

  • How is Jupiter’s storm different from Earth’s?

    Jupiter's storm is much larger, it's been ongoing for centuries due to its large size and fast rotation.

  • What causes thunder?

    Thunder is caused by the rapid expansion of air heated by lightning.

  • How do scientists study tornadoes?

    Scientists use models with water to simulate tornadoes in a laboratory and electronic ears to measure sounds during tornado formations.

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    Guy T
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    guide if you've ever been in an
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    especially strong wind or if you found
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    yourself in a blizzard or a downpour or
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    if you've ever heard thunder or seen
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    lightning well that
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    means you're in
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    a
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    storm storms happen all over the world
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    every day without storm life wouldn't be
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    anything like the way we know it the
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    W get all
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    this
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    [Applause]
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    oh I'll get you my little science
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    man
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    oh storms are extreme
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    [Music]
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    weather
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    they're caused by the heat of the
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    sun water in the
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    air and the spin of the
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    Earth take a look at
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    this it's our miniature gigantic extreme
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    storm system simulator of science now
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    when the sun is out like during the day
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    it heats up the surface of the Earth as
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    simulated by these red lamps that makes
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    the air near the ground get warm then
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    cooler air from surrounding areas flows
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    in and forces the warm air way up like
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    this now way up it's a lot cooler cuz
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    it's closer to space so we get this flow
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    of air moving up and down at the same
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    time these are the conditions that make
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    storms now we're simulating a lot of
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    sunlight over an enormous area of land
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    with huge masses of air now in real life
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    the air Flows In from different
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    directions so it can start to spin like
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    this wherever you've got heat an
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    atmosphere and a spinning Planet it
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    really turns things up storms are
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    extreme weather extreme
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    weather
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    welcome to extreme weather
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    theater what you ask is extreme
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    weather
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    well this is
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    [Music]
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    Extreme thank
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    you this too is extreme
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    thank
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    [Music]
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    this thank
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    you this has been extreme weather
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    theater storms are extreme weather
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    patterns
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    baby they'll soak you
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    rotten from time to time a mysterious
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    thing occurs over the Eastern Pacific it
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    affects the weather worldwide it is El
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    Nino
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    ELO normally trade winds blow over this
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    part of the ocean keeping it cool but
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    from time to time it stops then the Sun
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    beats down warming the sea which warms
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    the air and no one knows why it is elino
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    [Music]
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    El when this happens fish die fish
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    die and storms rage all over the
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    globe it is El
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    Nino
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    ELO now I must
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    Amigos
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    El unseasonably warm and stormy weather
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    we're having at this time of year don't
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    you
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    think this strange weather phenomenon my
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    friend is the work of none other than
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    Nino El
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    Nino a mysteriously warm area of water
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    in the Pacific it can affect World
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    weather patterns causing unseasonably
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    warm weather and more frequent and
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    Powerful
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    storms
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    El on planet Earth there are storms the
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    size of Texas hurricanes and typhoons
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    they're formed when huge areas of the
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    open ocean soak up a tremendous amount
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    of heat from the
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    Sun cool air squeezes warm air up the
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    warm air carries water vapor with it
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    when the vapor turns back into a liquid
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    when it rains it releases a lot of
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    energy high in the atmosphere which
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    helps Drive The Winds of the storm these
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    storms are so big that they get spun by
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    the Spin of the
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    Earth more energy being released every
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    second from a dozen atom
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    bombs now the winds are moving so fast
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    that these storms end up with a hollow
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    spot right in the middle called the eye
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    of the storm the winds are calm there
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    while they're really howling around the
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    outside now if one of these storms moves
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    from the ocean onto the land they can
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    really tear things
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    not the missing fishies my young friend
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    are the result of mysteriously warm
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    Waters killing creatures like your
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    precious anchovies from Alaska to Peru
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    it is none other
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    than El
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    n lightning is electricity the flow of
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    electrons now let's say that these
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    people are
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    electrons they're all negative they have
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    the same charge so they're repelling
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    each other right now there's nowhere for
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    them to go but when the door
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    [Music]
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    opens they spread
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    out the same thing happens in clouds
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    let's say this is a cloud and this
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    rubber belt is keeping a chalk full of
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    electrons now they'll spread out if we
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    let
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    them they spread
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    out
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    the easiest way for them to do that is
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    to find a path to the ground like this
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    oh no it's a big dark stormcloud coming
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    our way quick everyone get in the
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    house
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    pow a bolt of
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    lightning how about
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    lightning heats up the air and makes it
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    expand so fast it's like an
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    explosion Thunder and thunder can get
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    pretty
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    loud see we were going to make my bones
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    light up like in the cartoons but
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    instead we went with this makeup
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    effect when you're caught in a
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    thunderstorm a tree may look like a nice
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    shelter but it's
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    not since lightning strikes to the
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    highest point around a tree is a prime
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    target
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    so don't stand under a tree during a
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    thunderstorm what you should do is get
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    short and make as little contact with
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    the ground as possible so the
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    electricity is less likely to choose you
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    as a path than say if you were under a
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    tree or standing in the field or lying
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    flat so just squat like this and let the
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    lightning find something else to hit you
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    may feel a little uncomfortable but it
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    beats getting
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    [Music]
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    Zapped
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    good
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    [Applause]
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    one I bet those kids downstairs are
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    shaking in their
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    shoes you know whenever Angels go
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    bowling we make thunder no we don't we
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    don't no Thunder is caused when charges
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    due to static electricity are built up
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    in the clouds on the surface of the
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    planet when the difference in the charge
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    is big
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    enough you get a bolt of lightning that
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    instantly heats the air up to five times
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    the temperature of the Sun that creates
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    a sound wave known as
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    Thunder would G all this time I thought
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    my 710 splits were the cause of
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    explosive
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    sound well they're sure going to get a
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    rainstorm down there
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    huh I'm going to cry and when Angels Cry
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    The Rains
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    come about that rain thing we need to
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    talk
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    it's a
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    twister tornadoes take place when air
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    masses of extremely different
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    temperatures come together see the sun
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    shines right through the air and warms
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    the land the land acts like a stove and
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    heats the air above it now instead of
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    the hot air getting squeezed and Rising
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    it's held down by a slab of cold air so
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    if conditions are right the hot air
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    punches a hole through the cold air and
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    rushes up through it like a bathtub
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    drain upside down if that happens take
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    cover my friends you got yourself a
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    twister when that happens my friend take
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    cover cuz you got yourself a
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    [Music]
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    [Music]
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    twister some storm spin because of the
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    Earth's
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    rotation oh behave you little
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    [Music]
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    twister the stuff we have here is our
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    most recent area of research and it
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    involves work at the University of
  • 00:14:19
    Colorado to model tornadoes in the
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    laboratory we chose water because Water
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    and Air Act the same way you can work
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    with either one of them and get good
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    results we disc that some of these lab
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    tornadoes make very very loud
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    sounds and we're trying to understand
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    that because we've discovered that
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    fullblown tornadoes in the atmosphere
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    also make sounds but when we deal with
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    real tornadoes the sound we're expecting
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    is going to be so low that we require an
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    electronic ear to hear it this is our
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    electronic ear all of these hoses that
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    are going out from it like an octopuses
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    technicals are the sensing element that
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    all feed in to this uh microphone
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    all storms are really potentially
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    dangerous in some way but we might be
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    able to listen to sounds that could save
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    lives you can see how a tornado works
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    just fill up two 2 L pop bottles these
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    plastic ones are cool
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    because you can do that so have a
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    so-called friend help you fill up the
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    [Music]
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    bottles
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    [Music]
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    now have a friend help you empty the
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    bottles make it AAS tip the bottles over
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    at the same time keep one bottle steady
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    and give the other one a twirl ready
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    okay
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    go see when you get it spinning the
  • 00:15:56
    water drains much faster the same same
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    thing happens with cornado when air gets
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    spinning it spins faster and faster to
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    make a wild spinning
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    [Music]
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    stor I
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    won the Earth isn't the only place with
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    storms no they happen all over the solar
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    system this is the planet Jupiter it's
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    over 1,300 times the size of the Earth
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    and for hundreds of years astronomers
  • 00:16:26
    have observed a great spot it's a storm
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    a
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    hurricane and it's over twice the size
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    of our planet it's been raging for
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    hundreds of years and you're saying why
  • 00:16:38
    doesn't it die down the way hurricanes
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    do on the earth well there's two things
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    first of all Jupiter is huge Jupiter
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    twice as large as all the other planets
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    combined secondly it's spinning very
  • 00:16:48
    very fast it takes Jupiter only 10 Earth
  • 00:16:51
    hours to go all the way around so the
  • 00:16:53
    winds on the surface of Jupiter are
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    really moving they're going fast enough
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    to sustain this GI gigantic storm for
  • 00:16:59
    centuries on another planet
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    wow there's the Sun up in theing places
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    all around at different rates wind
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    evaporates storming in because cold air
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    pushes warm air way
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    up has been falling lately is on the way
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    and baby we should all get ready baby
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    here comes a hurricane now we at the
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    rain is pouring look out cuz the
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    windowing war and masses blowing it's
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    all mixing up the
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    [Music]
  • 00:17:49
    atmosphere well that's our show thanks
  • 00:17:51
    for watching if you excuse me I've got
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    some mesocyclone advection currents to
  • 00:17:54
    quantify see you produce in association
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    with the National Science found
  • 00:17:59
    going to get right into the lifting
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    condensation level right on right to the
  • 00:18:01
    meter the half meter and that way we'll
  • 00:18:04
    know for sure what induce this
  • 00:18:07
    blizzard yeah as the air goes up and
  • 00:18:11
    then after a while it goes
  • 00:18:14
    [Applause]
  • 00:18:17
    down I'm buying lunch today in fact I'm
  • 00:18:20
    feeling pretty
  • 00:18:21
    good I'm buying lunch for
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    everyone hey
  • 00:18:25
    everyone lunch is on me I'll take a STI
  • 00:18:29
    to
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    go stream
  • 00:18:38
    weather storms
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    storms stream weather
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    stor fre
  • 00:18:50
    weather
  • 00:18:52
    [Music]
  • 00:18:57
    wow
Tags
  • storms
  • extreme weather
  • El Niño
  • lightning
  • thunder
  • tornadoes
  • hurricanes
  • typhoons
  • Jupiter storm
  • safety tips