1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Hi Dr. D. Hi guys, I have my tornado box finished, do you want to see it? 2 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:08,000 Sure! 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:10,000 What's the probability that it will work? 4 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Remember, we won over probabilities last time we were here. 5 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:16,000 You've been talking about hurricanes for too long. 6 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:18,000 Here we go. 7 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:27,000 That is really interesting. 8 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:28,000 How does it work? 9 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:31,000 In this case, it doesn't spin because of the Coriolis effect. 10 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:39,000 The fan pushes the air out the top, and then air going through the slots on the sides is formed into a vortex with a counterclockwise rotation. 11 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:41,000 So what's happened? 12 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:43,000 We think it's going to be okay to make our trip to Florida. 13 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:44,000 How do you know? 14 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:46,000 Let's start with clouds. 15 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:49,000 We learned that clouds form as warm, moist air rises and cools. 16 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:51,000 This cool air condenses to form clouds. 17 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:54,000 It's this condensation that gives energy to hurricanes. 18 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:56,000 Do you know why the air cools when it rises? 19 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:58,000 No, I hadn't thought about it. 20 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:02,000 Moist air rises to a higher elevation with less pressure, it expands. 21 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:04,000 Expansion is a cooling process. 22 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:05,000 Let me show you. 23 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:07,000 Blow on your hand like this. 24 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:11,000 It's pretty warm. 25 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:14,000 Now blow with your lips like this so the air has to expand. 26 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:18,000 Neat, it's much cooler. 27 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:19,000 Isn't science wonderful? 28 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:21,000 I'm sorry I interrupted you, keep going. 29 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:26,000 We've been watching the hurricanes very carefully and plotting its location on the hurricane tracking chart. 30 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:31,000 We know that hurricanes in our part of the world start in the Atlantic tropical waters and move to the west. 31 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:33,000 That's right, they're pushed along by the trade winds. 32 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:37,000 Dr. Brown taught us how LiDAR measures the amount of water vapor in a hurricane. 33 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:41,000 That's important because the amount of water vapor determines the strength of the storm. 34 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:44,000 Don't forget what the hurricane hunters were able to find out. 35 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:48,000 We learned that there are a lot of factors used to predict the probability of landfall. 36 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:55,000 But we think the key to this case is a high-pressure region in the southeast part of the United States that may block the approach of the storm. 37 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:57,000 What do you think, Dr. D? 38 00:01:57,000 --> 00:01:59,000 Sounds like you really worked hard on this. 39 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:02,000 A high-pressure region can certainly affect the path of a hurricane. 40 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:04,000 But remember, we can only talk about probabilities. 41 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:06,000 You can't know for sure. 42 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:08,000 Wait, here comes a Weather Channel report. 43 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:12,000 Hurricane Ichabod has been quite active the last 12 hours. 44 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:15,000 The eye of the storm was tracking northwestward. 45 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:23,000 But if you recall, a high-pressure system building in the southeast is becoming stronger and moving towards the hurricane's path. 46 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:31,000 Now, when these two systems collide, the ridge of the high pressure is causing the storm to curve its track into a northeasterly direction. 47 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:36,000 Therefore, the hurricane watch has been discontinued over Florida. 48 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,000 The News Channel just confirmed our hypothesis. 49 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:45,000 We think there's a high probability that the high-pressure system will keep the storm off the shore. 50 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:47,000 So we've decided to go to Florida. 51 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:49,000 Well, I certainly hope that you're right. 52 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:53,000 I was going to a conference in Florida. I decided to stay here instead. 53 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:55,000 You may be missing some nice weather. 54 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:58,000 Well, I don't think I want to take any chances. 55 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:01,000 Okay, Dr. D. You may be sorry.