NewScientist The Last Word - Tag 'weather' details

Tag 'weather' details

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If the temperature is above 0 degrees c, and the wind chill factor puts the temp below 0, does water freeze?
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Asked by rob.stass
on 2009-08-29 17:17:44

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Categories: Domestic Science.

Tags: weather, water, ice, cold, freeze, frozen, windchill, 0.

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Can we cause it to rain in the desert yet ?

I remember reading a SF book in the 1960s which included a means of weather control. The theory given was that in an arid region, a length of tough flexible plastic tube was prepared. One end of the tube was anchored down, allowing a flow of air to enter the base, and then air was pumped into the end anchored. The tube was inflated and gradually stood up with the column of air extending the vertical tube. At a critical height the warmer air at the base of the column would begin to be sucked in to replace the cooler air rising to the top. The pump could be switched off and when fully extended at a predetermined height column of cooler air at the top would condense into clouds and result in rain. This would be self sustaining with the cool air being drawn in at the base and escaping at the top. The technology and materials were obviously not available when the book was published, but is this still true today?

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Asked by ronniec
on 2009-08-13 12:10:42

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Last edited on: 2009-08-14 14:36:49

Categories: Technology.

Tags: technology, weather, planetearth.

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How much water is in the air? How much water, World wide, is in the atmosphere. If there were no rain clouds or humidity across the planet, how much deeper would the oceans be?
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Asked by monty269
on 2009-08-02 22:31:12

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Categories: Planet Earth, Weather , Environment, Unanswered.

Tags: weather, environment, planetearth.

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Why do cricket teams prefer to bat when the weather is clear and sunny?
(2 votes) average rating:2.5 There are 4 answer(s) for this question. View answers \| Submit an answer

Asked by DANNY1
on 2009-07-27 13:09:08

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Categories: Weather .

Tags: weather, sport, cricket.

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Do Weathermen Know What They're Talking About?

Box scores tell you how a baseball team has done. Stock listings tell you how a stock has performed. But I've never seen a mechanism indicating whether weathermen have any idea what they're talking about. Does there exist, for example, a record of whether it rained on approximately half the days for which weathermen predicted a 50% probability of rain, 40% of the days for which they predicted a 40% probability, etc.? Or an assessment of how much closer they came to predicting, say, Feb. 12’s' high temperatures than they would have by just assuming that Feb. 12 this year will have the same high temperature as Feb. 12 last year? (For this last, let’s assume that the prediction is made on A. Feb. 10—which I assume would be better than simply guessing last Feb. 10’s temperature will be repeated, and on B. Feb. 5, a week before the date.

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Asked by nighttrain1
on 2009-07-17 22:44:33

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Categories: Planet Earth.

Tags: weather.

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Touchy feely

In Olympic swimming events, the winner is the first person to touch a pressure-sensitive wall at the end of the pool. How does this pad know that a person has touched it, rather than just registering the pressure of splashing water? If a swimmer just brushed it, would it fail to register their finish?I know that in the men's 100-metre butterfly event, the equipment was called into question when Michael Phelps of the US won his seventh gold medal of the games. How did officials know it had operated successfully?And finally, it's easy to judge the victor in a race taking place out of water - such as running - because a sensor beam can scan the finish line. But in the pool how can they ensure that all the wall pads are exactly in line at both ends of the pool? Are they aligned before water is added to the pool, and if so, how?Kelly Clitheroe, Grimsby, Lincolnshire, UK

(1 vote) average rating:4

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Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2009-07-08 17:01:09

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Categories: Technology.

Tags: technology, weather.

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It's his hormones What would happen if a man took the contraceptive pill, either once, accidentally, or daily? Are there any published cases?Arnout Jaspers, Leiden, The Netherlands(Image: thesaint, stock.xchng)
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Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2009-05-28 17:24:16

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Categories: Human Body.

Tags: human body, domestic science, weather.

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Apple melt The snow at the base of our small apple trees melts before snow elsewhere has melted. We've seen this under other trees too. Why? Robert Campbell, Uetendorf, Switzerland (Image: Mattox, stock.xchng)
Editorial status: In magazine. (1 vote) average rating:4 There are 31 answer(s) for this question. View answers \| Submit an answer

Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2009-05-06 17:02:00

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Last edited on: 2009-08-05 14:15:35

Categories: Weather , Plants, Unanswered.

Tags: unanswered, plants, weather, humanbody, domesticscience.

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The birds In New Zealand one of our radio stations broadcasts native birdsong each morning. It is obvious that seabirds have a much harsher screeching sound than the more melodious bush and land-based birds. In fact, I can usually tell a bird's habitat simply by the sound it makes. Why is there such a difference, and is it the same throughout the world?John Finlayson, Maungaturoto, New Zealand
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Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2009-05-06 15:37:54

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Categories: Animals.

Tags: animals, weather.

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Surround sound

I live a kilometre north of a busy motorway. When the wind is coming from the south the noise of the motorway is noticeably greater than when the wind is coming from the north.Assuming a wind speed of a mere 30 kilometres per hour, how can the wind direction affect the level of traffic noise I hear when the speed of sound is more than 1235 kilometres per hour?Jim Turton, by email, no address supplied